john mcafee yacht wolf of wall street

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home
• The Superyacht Directory
• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• Boat Pro Home
• Pricing Plan
• Superyacht Insight
• Product Features
• Premium Content
• Testimonials
• Global Order Book
• Tenders & Equipment

How Jordan Belfort's 37m superyacht Nadine sank off the coast of Sardinia

Related articles.

Coco Chanel was famously outspoken on many things, but yachting, in particular, attracted her ire. “As soon as you set foot on a yacht you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom,” she was once quoted as saying.

Her solution was to buy her own yacht. A 37m with a steel hull, built by the Dutch yard Witsen & Vis of Alkmaar. The yacht passed through many hands, finally ending up belonging to the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, on whose watch she foundered and sank in 1996.

The yacht was originally built for a Frenchman under the name Mathilde , but he backed out and she caught Chanel’s eye instead. With a narrow beam, a high bow and the long, low superstructure typical of Dutch yachts of her era, she was certainly a beautiful boat. But she was also well equipped, with five staterooms in dark teak panelling, magnificent dining facilities, room for big tenders and, later, a helipad. A frequent sight along the Florida coast, she caught the eye of a young skipper called Mark Elliott.

“In those days, she was the biggest yacht on the East Coast,” he remembers. “Nobody had ever seen anything like it. I needed a wrench once and went up to the boat - Captain Norm Dahl was really friendly.” He didn’t know it then, but Elliott was destined to become the skipper of the boat himself and was at the helm when the storm of the century took her to the bottom off Sardinia.

Coco Chanel died in 1971 and sometime thereafter the yacht was renamed Jan Pamela under the new ownership of Melvin Lane Powers. He was a flamboyant Houston real estate developer, fond of crocodile skin cowboy boots and acquitted of murder in a trial that gripped the nation.

Powers sent Jan Pamela to Merrill Stevens yard in Miami, where a mammoth seven-metre section was added amidships. “We made templates for the boat where we were going to cut her in half, then she went out for another charter season,” remembers Whit Kirtland, son of the yard owner. “When the boat came back in, we cut it just forward of the engine room, rolled the two sections apart and welded it in.”

He remembers how the sun’s heat made the bare and painted metal expand at different rates. “You had to weld during certain time periods – early in the morning or late at night,” says Kirtland.

The result of the extension was a huge new seven-metre full-beam master stateroom, an extra salon and one further cabin – pushing the charter capacity to seven staterooms. During this refit, the boat’s colour was also changed from white to taupe. “No one had really done it before and it was gorgeous,” says Elliott. By 1983, Powers was bankrupt and the yacht was sold on again. She next shows up named Edgewater .

Elliott’s chance came in 1989. He was working for the established yacht owner Bernie Little, who ran a hugely profitable distribution business for Bud brewer Anheuser-Busch. “Bernie Little had always wanted to own the boat,” Elliott says. “He loved it. He bought it sight unseen – and I started a huge restoration programme, including another extension to put three metres in the cockpit.”

It was a massive task, undertaken at Miami Ship. “We pulled out all the windows, re-chromed everything, repainted – brought it back to life,” says Elliott. They also cut out old twin diesels from GM and replaced them with bigger CAT engines, doubling her horsepower to 800. “Repowered, she could cruise at up to 20 knots. She was long and skinny, like a destroyer.”

A smart hydraulic feature was also brought to life for the first time. Under two of the sofas in the main stateroom were hidden 3.6m x 1.2m glass panels giving a view of the sea under the boat. At the push of a button, the sofas lifted up and mirrors above allowed you to gaze at the seabed – from the actual bed.

Now called Big Eagle , like all of Little’s boats, she was a charter hit and her top client was a certain New York financier named Jordan Belfort. He fell in love with her and begged Little to sell to him. But he needed to secure financing, and in 1995, Little agreed to hold a note on the boat for a year if Mark Elliott stayed on as skipper.

With the boat rechristened Nadine after his wife, Belfort set about another round of refit work, restyling the interior with vintage deco and lots of mirrors, extending the upper deck this time, and fitting a crane capable of raising and stowing the Turbine Seawind seaplane.

Nadine also carried a helicopter, a 10m Intrepid tender, two 6m dinghies on the bow, four motorbikes, six jetskis, state-of-the-art dive gear. “You pretty much needed an air traffic controller when all these things were in the water,” says Elliott.

Belfort’s partying was legendary and Elliott clearly saw eye-watering things on board, but as far as he was concerned, he was there to safeguard the boat. “When Jordan Belfort became the owner, he could do whatever he wanted. I was there to protect the note,” says Elliott. “He is a brilliant mind and a lovely person. It was just when he was in his party mode, he was out of control.”

Nadine and her huge cohort of toys and vehicles plied all the usual yachting haunts on both sides of the Atlantic. But Belfort’s love story was to be short-lived. Disaster struck with the boss and guests on board during an 85-mile crossing between Civitavecchia in Italy and Calle de Volpe on Sardinia.

What was forecast to be a 20-knot blow and moderate seas degenerated into a violent 70-knot storm with crests towering above 10.6m, according to Elliott. Wave after wave pounded the superstructure, stoving in hatches and windows so that water poured below and made the boat sluggish. By a miracle the engine room remained dry and they could maintain steerage way, motoring slowly through the black of the night as rescue attempt after rescue attempt was called off.

Nadine eventually sank at dawn in over 1000m of water just 20 miles from the coast of Sardinia. Everyone had been taken off by helicopter, and there was no loss of life. Captain Mark Elliott was roundly congratulated for his handling of the incident. “The insurance paid immediately because it was the storm of the century,” he says. “I took the whole crew but one with me to [Little’s next boat] Star Ship . That was my way to come back.”

More stories

Most popular, from our partners, sponsored listings.

Inside the wild life of the late former fugitive and eccentric cybersecurity legend John McAfee, who claimed to have 47 children and a yacht from the Wolf of Wall Street

• John McAfee is as much a cybersecurity legend as he is a now-infamous media story.
• He created one of the world's most popular antivirus programs in the 1980s.
• But he later became embroiled in a world of drugs, alcohol, and crime.

John McAfee was an enigma.

He built one of the biggest antivirus companies to date, cementing himself in the tech world as a cybersecurity pioneer. Yet it's what happened after this chapter of his life that catapulted him into the mainstream conscience.

After amassing a $100 million fortune that dwindled to $4 million after the 2008 financial crisis, McAfee became a "person of interest" in a Belizean murder, evaded authorities, and later returned to the US to run in two presidential elections.

He was charged with tax evasion in late 2020 and died in July 2021 in a Spanish prison.

Here's a look into the life of the man behind one of the most famous antivirus softwares.

John McAfee was born in the UK on September 18, 1945.

His parents moved to Roanoke, Virginia, when he was young. McAfee told Wired in 2012 that his father was an alcoholic and was abusive toward his mother.

When McAfee was 15, his father died by suicide, per Wired and other reports.

"Every day I wake up with him," he told the magazine in 2012.

McAfee told interviewers in a new Netflix documentary entitled "Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee" that his first job was either mowing lawns or shoveling snow.

Source: The Guardian

McAfee went to Roanoke College.

He was a shrewd entrepreneur and launched his first business, selling magazines. The issues were free, but customers had to pay for the shipping and handling fees.

"I am explaining to them why it's not free and why they are going to pay for it," McAfee told Wired in 2012. "But the ruse worked," adding that confidence is the key.

"I made a fortune," McAfee told the publication.

In his first year at Roanoke, he began to drink heavily, and he spent much of his magazine business income on alcohol.

Source: Wired

He started to earn his PhD in mathematics at Northeast Louisiana State College in 1968.

However, he was kicked out after starting a sexual relationship with one of his undergraduate students, a student he later married. Her name is unknown.

Source: Wired , The Guardian

He began working at a company that coded punch-card systems in the late '60s.

That taught him the basics of early computing, and he landed a job at Missouri Pacific Railroad, where he helped the company use a newfangled IBM computer system to help calibrate train schedules.

He started dabbling in hard drugs while working at the company. He told Wired that he would go to work often while tripping on LSD.

One day, he was sold a bag of a psychedelic known as DMT and after not feeling the effects after consuming a small portion, he partook in the entire bag.

"Within an hour my mind was shattered," he told Wired in 2012.

McAfee moved to Silicon Valley in the 1970s.

He held numerous jobs at various tech companies, including NASA, General Electric, and Xerox, and continued to abuse alcohol and drugs.

It wasn't until 1983 that he got sober. He was working at the company Omex, and found his daily routine to be snorting coke at his desk and drinking a bottle of scotch, according to Wired.

He says he felt alone and scared, and finally decided to seek help at Alcoholics Anonymous.

Source: BBC

McAfee was working at Lockheed by the 1980s.

Computers were still relatively new at the time, and in 1986, the first computer virus hit PCs.

McAfee read about these new programs that infiltrated computers and decided to start his own company to identify ways to combat the intrusive software.

McAfee Associates took off.

By the end of the 1980s, the company was making $5 million a year, and some of the biggest companies in the world were using his antivirus platform.

McAfee grew even more successful in part because of a computer virus called Michelangelo that hit the scene in 1992. 

McAfee called it one of the worst viruses to date, estimating it would infect as many as 5 million computers.

At the time computer antivirus platforms weren't products that most people bought. Michelangelo, and McAfee's antidote for it, changed that.

Though only about tens of thousands of computers were infected, Michelangelo propelled McAfee to go public, and it turned into a multimillion-dollar business.

Source: Motherboard

McAfee resigned from McAfee in 1994.

Two years later, he sold his shares, which gave him about $100 million, according to The New York Times.

After his resignation, McAfee kept a relatively low profile. He would give young startups advice, lecture at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and also work on projects of his own.

He kicked off two social media initiatives called PowWow and Tribal Voice, but neither hit the mainstream.

He divorced his second wife, Judy, in 2002.

Source: MIT Technology Review, The Guardian

In 2000, he bought 290 acres in Colorado and built a yoga retreat.

He wrote a number of books on spiritual direction and yoga.

He also bought 157 acres in New Mexico and founded a flight club called "Sky Gypsies," according to a 2007 report from The Wall Street Journal.

The economic collapse caught up to him in 2008 though. His fortune shrunk from $100 million to $4 million, per The New York Times.

He auctioned off much of his real estate holdings, per The Times.

In 2010, Intel bought McAfee Associates for $7.7 billion.

He moved to Belize's Ambergris Caye that year.

McAfee bought an oceanfront estate in Belize to kickstart a project devoted to curing a kind of bacteria, per BBC. The operation began to fall apart after the microbiologist he teamed up with quit.

Then, in April 2012, the Belize police raided the research lab over suspected methamphetamine production. McAfee claimed it was because the government was corrupt — he declined to make a $2 million political donation two weeks prior, he told the BBC in 2013.

McAfee's neighbor was found dead in November 2012.

Living next to McAfee in Belize was an American named George Faull. He was found dead by gunshot in late 2012. McAfee later acknowledged to the BBC that the two may not have always gotten along.

McAfee was a person of interest in Faull's death, and when Belize authorities came to question him, he fled, claiming that the government intended to silence him.

"I thought maybe they were coming for me. They mistook him for me. They got the wrong house," McAfee told  Wired . "He's dead. They killed him. It spooked me out."

ABC News soon after reported that, a month before his death, Faull filed a complaint against McAfee. It accused him of failing to contain his "8-12 vicious dogs" that were allegedly attacking residents and tourists, that his security guards walked around the compound with guns at night, and that there was an incessant coming and goings of traffic to McAfee's property.

Two of McAfee's dogs were fed a poisoned tortilla the day before Faull died, per BBC.

"The entire five years I was there, I'd said maybe 15 words to him," McAfee  told the BBC in 2013.

McAfee was arrested in Guatemala.

This reportedly could have been because of Vice, which flew down two reporters to interview him.

By mistake, Vice posted pictures of McAfee that still had GPS coordinates attached to them, per The Guardian. Shortly after, Guatemalan police caught up with McAfee, arresting him on charges of illegal entry to the country.

While detained, McAfee was taken to the hospital after a series of heart-related health issues. He was set to be deported back to Belize but ultimately was sent back to the US, per The Times.

His time spent running from Belize to Guatemala is featured in "Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee," footage of which was in part filmed by the Vice journalists.

He was a staple in national headlines from that point on.

In 2013, he uploaded a video entitled "How To Uninstall McAfee Antivirus."

It showed him surrounded by scantily clad women while trying to uninstall the software he invented, which he denounced after leaving the company. The video also showed guns and allusions to drugs and drug use, although it was apparently intended to be a mockery of the public's perception of him, per NBC.

He married Janice Dyson in 2013 and later tweeted in January 2020 that he has 47 children.

A documentarian from "Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee" also says in the program that McAfee claimed to have bought a yacht from the "Wolf of Wall Street," Jordan Belfort, at some point.

In 2015, he became CEO of the tech investment firm MGT Capital, per the Guardian.

Source: YouTube

And in 2015, he ran for the US presidential election.

McAfee campaigned as a Libertarian and went on shows like Larry King Live to promote his cause first that year and again for the 2020 election. His campaign slogan was "here's to the crazy ones," per The New York Times.

He lost both times.

He also became a vocal cryptocurrency enthusiast.

He now-famously said in 2017 that he would eat his penis on live television if the price of bitcoin didn't reach $1 million by the end of 2020. And McAfee used Twitter often to post about his crypto moves.

The US Justice Department indicted McAfee on June 15, 2020, alleging tax evasion and willful failure to file tax returns for millions of income he earned via speaking engagements and other crypto-related projects.

He was arrested in Spain in October that year, the day that indictment was unsealed. The day after, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged him for promoting initial coin offerings without disclosing to his followers that he was being paid $23 million to post about them, per The New York Times.

In July 2021, Spain ruled to extradite him to the US. He was found dead in his cell hours later.

Spanish authorities concluded that the cause of death was by suicide, per Reuters.

His widow, Janice McAfee, has said she does not believe her husband was suicidal and is pushing for his body to be brought back to the states, as well as for an independent autopsy, according to the outlet.

She created a Change.org petition advocating for McAfee's remains to be brought to the US.

The new Netflix documentary follows him from Belize to Guatemala and in the years after.

"Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee" features him attempting to flee Belize authorities, getting arrested in Guatemala, being sent back to the US, and then fleeing on a boat in and around the Bahamas with his wife and security guards from what he said were people attempting to silence him.

It's currently airing on Netflix.

• Main content

Join our Newsletter

Subscribe to B.H. Magazine

Share the article.

Royal Huisman’s Project 406 Is The World’s Largest Purpose-Built Fishing Boat

Ferrari Is Officially Entering The Yacht Game

Steven Spielberg Takes Delivery On His Cinematic $250 Million Superyacht

The 33-Metre Sanlorenzo SP110 ‘Steel It’ Motor Yacht Is A Jet-Powered Masterpiece

Conor McGregor Enjoyed The Monaco Grand Prix From His $5.5 Million Lamborghini Yacht

Related articles.

BMW Debuts ‘The Icon’ Boat With Soundscape Designed By Hans Zimmer

Step Inside The 75m Kenshō: 2023’s Motor Yacht Of The Year

Russian Superyacht’s Crew Spends Past Year Playing ‘Call Of Duty’ & Chilling By Pool

Superyacht Private Security Engaged In A Gun Battle With Pirates Off The Coast Of Yemen

The Feadship Project 710 Is 84m Of Sustainable Superyacht

• Entertainment
• Celebrities
• Ticket Sales
• Promoted: What to Watch on Prime Video

Recommended

John mcafee doc unravels the downfall of the notorious tech mogul: ‘a brilliant, manipulative person’.

• View Author Archive
• Follow on Twitter
• Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

“James Bond meets Scarface with a little Indiana Jones.”

That’s how John McAfee, the notorious tech mogul who lived a strange life shrouded in power, mystery, violence and international espionage, describes himself in the new Netflix documentary “Running With the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee,” out Wednesday.

McAfee was born in England to an American soldier-turned-road surveyor, Donald McAfee, and a bank teller, Joan. He grew up in Roanoke, Va., and worked for NASA before creating his namesake protective software in the late 1980s. At his peak, his net worth was an estimated $100 million , and he stepped away from his successful company in 1994.

But in retirement, his life took a series of strange turns.

He became increasingly obsessed with using his computer prowess to tap into devices around the world so that he could spy on governments, high-profile criminals and others that intrigued him.

“John told me that he created a software [that] enabled him to spy on anyone in the world. The CIA, FBI, the KGB, NSA, even the White House. Everyone,” Alex Cody Foster, a ghostwriter who worked for McAfee, says in the doc. “John had access to information on virtually everybody in the world.”

In 2012, he was living on a beach in San Pedro, Belize, when a neighbor, Gregory Faull, suddenly died.

He and McAfee had clashed over their pets — Faull had a prized parrot that he feared McAfee’s beloved dogs would attack. Four of McAfee’s pups were mysteriously poisoned, and he had to shoot them out of mercy. Soon after, Faull was found dead by a gunshot wound to the head. Many presumed McAfee was to blame.

“John was in a different space” when the murder happened, Darryl Williams, McAfee’s first cousin who once met Faull, says in the film. “Alcohol was back in his life, drugs … There’s a reason they call them mind-altering substances.”

Others say Faull’s apparent murder was a setup on his neighbor, because McAfee had leverage on global entities from his years of surveillance.

“His side of the story is that they’re after him because he didn’t pay off the government. They wanted to hurt him, to get rid of him,” McAfee’s ex-girlfriend Samantha Herrera says in the documentary. She also notes that through his surveillance, he had allegedly found hard evidence linking Belize’s government to corruption.

McAfee didn’t stick around to clear his name. He and Herrera fled Belize to Guatemala by boat, taking with them a Vice camera crew they’d invited to document their adventure.

“If you get arrested with me, there is the chance that you may suffer some ill treatment,” McAfee, who feared authorities would chop off his fingers, says to the Vice team in archival footage. “You guys are f–ked too.”

Once in Guatemala City, McAfee was arrested by federales and Interpol agents on passport issues after he spoke at a press conference he had called to announce that he was seeking asylum.

“I have documentation that proves the intense corruption at all levels of the Belizean government,” McAfee told reporters prior to getting jailed. Days later, he had a heart attack, which forced his transfer from jail to a hospital.

Though it remains unclear how, McAfee managed to leverage his return to the United States while recuperating.

Once there, McAfee ended his relationship with Herrera and went on to wed Janice Dyson, a sex worker he had picked up in Miami for a cuddle.

The murder of Faull remains unsolved, and McAfee was never formally charged for it.

That wasn’t the only murder McAfee was suspiciously close to. His most trusted adviser, identified in the film only as Jimmy, once let it slip to Foster that McAfee had allegedly killed his abusive father.

“John confided in him that he had shot his father when he was a teenager. He killed him and made it look like it was a suicide,” Foster says. “This is a dangerous man. He’s hurt a lot of people.”

In 2016, McAfee ran for president on the Libertarian ticket, but lost in a landslide to former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson in the primary. In 2019, McAfee again felt paranoia that people were after him. This time it was not only government entities, but the internationally feared Sinaloa drug cartel once led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The gang wanted McAfee’s head on a silver platter, he feared.

“He had all the goods on the nefarious activities that the government of Belize was involved in, and that actually involved other American high-up politicians … Human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering,” Dyson says.

In 2019, McAfee admitted on camera and on social media that he hadn’t paid taxes in nearly a decade — another incentive to get back on the run.

I have not filed a tax return for 8 years. Why? 1: taxation is illegal. 2: I paid tens of millions already and received Jack Shit in services. 3. I'm done making money. I live off of cash from McAfee Inc. My net income is negative. But i am a prime target for the IRS. Here I am. — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) January 3, 2019

“He got rid of everything, moved all assets. Cars, house, he sold,” Vice cameraman Robert King, whom McAfee invited to cover his 2019 flight, says in the documentary. “Yeah, he packed up and left … It was very difficult. Seventy-something-year-old on the run again.”

McAfee, Dyson, King and a troop of ex-commando private security armed to the teeth made their way by yacht — one that McAfee claimed he bought from the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort — to the Bahamas.

When they got to port, customs would only allow a portion of McAfee’s guns and ammo to stay, so they high-tailed it out.

“We’re at life and death here. Leave immediately … I’m taking no chances” McAfee says to the Vice cameras.

King says that in addition to the trove of guns around the yacht, there was a plethora of drugs that McAfee had been doing at the time — most notably bath salts.

They caused McAfee to go off the deep end. He started randomly shooting guns off the boat without telling anyone, and he even half-jokingly threatened to shoot King in the foot, drawing a pistol at the cameraman.

McAfee also admitted to King — who took a hiatus after the shooting threat — that his wanted status and past might have been blatant lies.

“I will fabricate whatever reality I see fit to keep eyeballs on us, Robert, are we clear? … I have created this gold, do you understand this? I have fabricated a perception that is matched with reality,” McAfee is caught on camera saying.

Foster, too, recalled McAfee’s ability to twist the truth into whatever he pleased.

“He was the most brilliant, manipulative person that I’ve ever met. And he wanted to control narratives too. He did it expertly.”

McAfee was eventually arrested in the Dominican Republic for irresponsibly flaunting one of his guns during the deranged yachting journey. He managed to use his British passport to get deported to Europe and wound up in Spain, where he was again arrested. There he awaited extradition to the US on tax evasion and insider trading charges in October 2020.

In June 2021, the extradition McAfee feared was finally approved. Then, late that month, he was found hanged in his cell. It was a moment that McAfee spent years warning about online.

“If I suicide myself, I didn’t. I was whackd,” he famously tweeted in 2019 , showing off a tattoo he got that reads $WHACKD.

“I am not suicidal my friend, no, OK? If I go down it will be fighting with my shoes on,” McAfee is heard saying on recorded audio.

Getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: "We're coming for you McAfee! We're going to kill yourself". I got a tattoo today just in case. If I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whackd. Check my right arm. $WHACKD available only on https://t.co/HdSEYi9krq :) pic.twitter.com/rJ0Vi2Hpjj — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) November 30, 2019

But did the master of deceit — who once said “Possibly the Joker is the best description of me” — have one final card to play?

“I don’t know if I should say, but two weeks ago, after his death, I got a call from Texas: ‘It’s me, John. I paid off people to pretend that I am dead, but I am not dead ,’” Herrera says in a bombshell moment at the end of the documentary.

“[He said,] ‘There are only three persons in this world that knows I’m still alive.’ And then he asked me to run away with him.”

McAfee’s company is now worth roughly $14 billion .

Share this article:

Advertisement

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

The Real Story Behind the Yacht in The Wolf of Wall Street

Based on the eponymous memoir, the 2013 hit The Wolf of Wall Street told the story of Jordan Belfort, a former stockbroker who was convicted of securities fraud and money laundering. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the movie was a smashing success through and through. Amongst its many impressionable scenes, one of the most memorable ones was the yacht party, where Belfort and his colleagues indulged in lavish excess. However, Belfort’s ex-wife, Nadine Caridi, has now spoken out about the real story behind the yacht.

Nadine Caridi, the Ex-Wife

Caridi, who was portrayed in the movie by Margot Robbie, gave an interview in which she revealed that the yacht scene was not entirely accurate. According to Caridi, the yacht that was shown in the movie was not the one that Belfort actually owned. Instead, it was rented for the filming of the scene. In reality, Belfort owned a different yacht called Nadine. Caridi claims that the yacht was named after her and that she played a significant role in its design and decoration. She says that the yacht was much smaller than the one shown in the movie, but it was still luxurious and served as a symbol of Belfort’s wealth.

The Sinking of the Nadine Yacht

Nadine Caridi recently spoke about the sinking of the yacht in June 1996, an event that inspired a scene in the movie. The yacht’s sinking during a storm off the coast of Italy was a terrifying experience for everyone on board. The waves were violent and relentless, hitting the yacht repeatedly. Rescue services had to be called in to rescue the passengers and crew, including Belfort and Caridi. In a recent TikTok video, Caridi shared real-life footage of the rescue, showing the fear and chaos that ensued during the storm, while expressing gratitude that everyone survived.

Can a Circle of Salt Paralyze a Self-Driving Car?

Autonomous vehicles are truly within the grasp of humankind. But the brain of a sci-fi geek can wonder whether it’ll bring an apocalyptic scene, where a troop of autonomous cars is pursuing human prey across a desolate landscape. Well, of course, it’s not going to happen, but luckily, if it did, there’s a strangely simple solution for that. And it involves nothing but salt!

The Salt Trap

Back in 2017, artist James Bridle demonstrated how an understanding of road markings using salt could paralyze a self-driving car midway by delivering confusing messages. You need to draw two circles of salt, one in a block line and the other in broken stripes. When the car comes to the middle of it, the markings will direct it to go right ahead and also not to cross, simultaneously. The result is the fabulous “Autonomous Trap 001.” Future models may be able to overcome this fun technological quirk, but it has surely raised a valid question about the possibility of the success of the trick. It’s astonishing to find out that there may be a simple way to manipulate the environment to disrupt the self-driving capacity of an autonomous car.

The Response

This salt circle trap has caught the attention of none other than Elon Musk, the Tesla boss and newly-appointed CEO of Twitter. As an avid enthusiast, Musk is known for dabbling in autonomous vehicles. Responding to the demonstration, he explained that the salt circle trick will probably be able to trap a Tesla car with the production Autopilot build. But he suspected that it won’t work its magic on the FSD models or the cars with Full Self-Driving capabilities. Musk further suggested that making a ring of traffic cones would be effective on the FSD cars. So, if you ever find yourself facing a murderous fleet of autonomous cars, all you need to do is just take your salt bags and traffic cones out! Easy-peasy, right?

• Login or Register

Jordan Belfort Yacht: The True Story and The Wolf of Wall Street Version

luxuo guide

Share This Article

The true Jordan Belfort yacht story is as strange and unbelievable as the hit movie The Wolf of Wall Street depicts it to be. There are several insider stories behind the sinking of the mighty yacht that are not widely known but are quite interesting and different from the reel version in several ways.

Nadine yacht model

What happened to the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine? As the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street shows, the superyacht Nadine sank close to the coast of Sardinia in 1997 while battling what many calls “the storm of the century”. Jordan Belfort narrates the event in detail in the memoir describing his life in the 90s, which is what the Martin Scorsese movie is about.

Jordan belfort yacht sailing

Did the yacht scene in The Wolf of Wall Street actually happen? The Jordan Belfort yacht sinking scene in The Wolf of Wall Street was heavily inspired by a real-life event, though the movie did take some creative liberties. For one, the yacht was called Naomi in the reel version since the name of Belfort’s wife (played by Margot Robbie) was changed in the movie. In reality, the yacht was named Nadine.

Interesting insights on the sinking as portrayed in the movie

The movie captured each passenger’s fear and stress when the yacht got caught up in the 70-knot storm. There is some hilarity when Belfort starts yelling for his drugs to avoid the horror of dying sober. Several rescue attempts were made, but each was called off due to rising risks. By some twist of luck, the yacht’s engine room remained undamaged primarily for a while, because of which they were able to make their way through the sea.

The best features of the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine

The 167 ft Nadine, as its former passengers claim, was beautiful. When owned by Coco Chanel under the name Matilda, the yacht had five staterooms, large dining areas, and a helipad. The interiors were furnished with dark teak paneling. Each new owner customized the yacht’s name and interiors based on their tastes.

Which model was portrayed as the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine in the movie?

Martin Scorsese got the yacht Lady M to represent Nadine onscreen. While Nadine had a luxuriously vintage charm, Lady M is a modern vessel with contemporary features. Lady M was manufactured in 2022 by Intermarine Savannah, while Nadine was built in 1961 by Witsen & Wis. The 147 ft Lady M is currently worth $12 million and is similar to Benetti yachts in its glamorous design.

Jordan Belfort’s life today

The entrepreneur and speaker Jordan Belfort’s shenanigans are well-known thanks to his detailed memoir and the hit movie based on some parts of his life. He spent 2 years in prison and now has practically negative net worth at 59 years of age. Yet, his extraordinary motivational speaking skills continue to attract and inspire people even today. It is easy for anyone watching the movie to wonder if many of the incidents are exaggerated. But considering Belfort’s eccentric life, even the Nadine sinking incident remains another regular anecdote shared in the movie.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You May Also Like

Experience Royalty with High Wycombe to Snowdonia Luxury Train

Unveiling Cam Newton’s Net Worth, Salary, and Endorsement Deals 

© 2024 Truth. All Rights Reserved.

• TV & Film
• Say Maaate to a Mate
• First Impressions - The Game
• Daily Ladness
• Citizen Reef

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories , we're happy to send you some reminders

Click ' OK ' then ' Allow ' to enable notifications

Jordan Belfort’s ex-wife tells the real story behind the yacht on The Wolf of Wall Street

The ex-wife of jordan belfort shed some light on the infamous scene.

Ben Thompson

Jordan Belfort's ex wife, Nadine Macaluso, has set the record straight about the scene in The Wolf Of Wall Street where Belfort splashes out and buys his wife a yacht on their wedding day.

I mean, when you have a lot of money , what better way to treat your new spouse after saying I do?

After their lavish wedding, Belford ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) covers Nadine's, or Naomi as she's known in the movie, eyes with a blindfold before revealing the huge yacht, which has been christened the 'Naomi'.

And Naomi (played by Margot Robbie ) cannot contain her excitement.

"Are you serious? A f***ing yacht?!" she exclaims.

However, it seems that the real Belfort wasn't very serious, as Macaluso revealed on TikTok that her ex-husband, who she was married to from 1991 to 2005, 'did not' actually buy her a boat on their wedding day.

She said: "Actually what happened I think we were married for a few years and we were always chartering yachts, because he loved to do that.

"And I had given birth to my beautiful daughter Chandler and he said 'I want to buy a yacht'."

However, this idea didn't sit well with Macaluso at the time.

She continued: "I said 'I don't think we should buy a yacht, we have a baby and I don't feel comfortable.

'She can't swim.'

"I had visions of her falling off the boat and I was actually terrified.

"I did not want to buy the yacht ironically. And he was like 'Nope, I'm buying a yacht and I'm calling it the Nadine'. And I was like 'Okay, here we go'.

"And you know how that went."

Macaluso's final line is a nod to a scene in the film, in which Belfort and Naomi need to be rescued from the yacht after it gets caught up in a storm.

This scene was indeed based on the real life sinking of the ship in June 1996, which resulted in a rescue by the Italian Navy Special forces.

The yacht was sunk after violent waves repeatedly hit it, but luckily everyone on board was able to escape the ship in time.

Macaluso has previously commented on the scene's accuracy , where she admitted in a TikTok video that the yacht sinking scene was 'totally true'.

Speaking of the memory, she said: "It was horrific, horrifying, we were in a squall for 12 to 18 hours and we lived, thank god, for my kids."

She even showed real life footage of her, Belford and their friends being rescued by the Navy.

Topics:  TV and Film

• Real Wolf of Wall Street's ex-wife gave Margot Robbie important advice about doing completely nude scene
• Real footage of the beach party from the Wolf of Wall Street shows how accurate the movie is
• Real Wolf of Wall Street’s ex-wife shares common ‘red flag’ that means your partner might be cheating
• Company Looking To Pay Someone €50 An Hour To Watch Wolf Of Wall Street

Choose your content:

Dave Myers’ final on screen words revealed ahead of final ever Hairy Bikers episode tonight

The final hairy bikers episode will air tonight, almost a month on since dave myers' death.

‘Sickened’ Netflix viewers forced to turn off ‘disgusting’ new crime series that exposes one of the biggest scandals in history

Simpsons fans feeling seriously old after realising how long ago iconic Homer meme episode aired

Viewers calling for sequel of 2014 thriller with cliffhanger ending as film drops on Netflix

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Tiger King, Tech Tycoon Edition: the wild tale of the millionaire who ran for president while wanted for murder

Faked heart attacks, poisoned dogs and mind-altering substances are just part of this truly bizarre documentary on John McAfee – the software pioneer who fled police

‘T his isn’t going to be a movie about sex and violence,” says John McAfee in the introduction to this documentary. Boo! “Even though there may be some in it.” Hooray! The highly quotable antihero adds: “It’s James Bond meets Scarface, with a little Indiana Jones.” Pass the popcorn and count us in.

The latest TV show from Netflix’s seemingly endless true-crime conveyor belt is Running With the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee. It tells the belief-beggaring story of the Silicon Valley golden boy who fled from murder charges and ran for US president. McAfee himself asks: “Am I a successful entrepreneur who went mad and murdered his neighbour? Or the potential saviour of America?” Across this outrageous film’s 105-minute running time, you will probably lean towards the former. This is Tiger King: Tech Tycoon Edition.

Born, rather incongruously, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, McAfee moved to the US, graduated in mathematics and became a programmer at Nasa, working on the Apollo space missions. In 1987, he invented McAfee antivirus, one of the most successful – not to mention most hated – pieces of software ever. At his peak, McAfee had a personal fortune of $100m. The company that bears his name is worth $14bn today.

In 1994, the maverick mogul quit his business to take up yoga and meditation, moving to the wealthy tourist enclave of Ambergris Caye in Belize. The owner of the mansion next door was 52-year-old Florida expat Gregory Faull, whose pet parrot was permanently perched on his shoulder (because God forbid anyone in this tale should be remotely normal). He had a problem with McAfee’s dogs. When the beloved mutts were poisoned, McAfee was heard vowing to kill Faull as retribution. Two days later, Faull was shot in the back of the head. McAfee was the prime suspect but by the time local police raided his compound, he was gone.

This bizarre yarn begins in earnest in 2012, when McAfee invites Vice magazine’s editor in chief Rocco Castoro and cameraman Robert King (an endearingly grizzled character, reminiscent of The Dude from The Big Lebowski) to document his life in hiding. They follow him from Belize to Guatemala, accompanied by his ex-military bodyguards and much younger girlfriend Sam (she was 18 when they met, 46 years his junior). We see McAfee attempting to bribe customs officials, swigging whisky from the bottle and firing guns for fun. “I hate to advocate alcohol, drugs, violence and insanity to anybody,” he deadpans. “But it’s always worked for me.”

The Vice guys seem intoxicated by him, too. They publish an online article with the headline: “ We are with John McAfee right now, suckers .” Ironically, they forget to take the geo-data off the accompanying photograph, giving away the IT security guru’s location. Cue him going on the run again. “Clearly I’m a flight risk,” McAfee chuckles in the getaway car. “I specialise in flighting.”

When things go pear-shaped, he fakes a heart attack to get himself airlifted back to the US, ditching poor Sam at the border. Within hours of landing in Miami, he has hooked up with sex worker Janice, who he soon marries. Asked if it was love at first sight, she laughs: “Fuck no … I just saw an opportunity.”

The narrative becomes as chaotic as the man himself. McAfee repeatedly goes into hiding, then re-emerges and invites the camera crew back. Those close to him admit he is a master manipulator and narcissist. He compares himself to The Joker and relishes being a wanted man. On his still-active Twitter page, McAfee’s bio reads: “Iconoclast. Lover of women, adventure and mystery.”

One of the sweetest scenes sees the wannabe master-of-disguise visit a small town wig store to get fitted with a Michael Fabricant-style hairpiece. The shop assistant can’t believe her luck when he suddenly offers $500 cash for her cheap sunglasses. Much less charmingly, McAfee also fakes disability to evade detection.

McAfee darkly claims to have “hacked the world”, hinting that he has bugged governments worldwide, including the White House. He insists Belize authorities conducted a witch-hunt because he had evidence of corruption, that politicians want him silenced and that Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa drug cartel have a contract out on him.

King says this was probably paranoid, self-aggrandising nonsense. The intel that McAfee claimed to possess has never been released. In 2016 and 2020, he ran for US president on a libertarian ticket, boasting that he would never pay taxes again and wearing his arrest warrant as a badge of honour. He failed to secure a nomination both times.

It all goes a bit Hunter S Thompson when he buys a yacht from Jordan Belfort, AKA the Wolf of Wall Street, and sets sail for the Bahamas with a cargo of drugs, hard liquor and heavy weaponry. Psychosis takes hold. In the middle of the Atlantic, McAfee threatens to shoot King “in the dick”. Despite decades as a war photographer, King understandably quits – but he is soon lured back to continue the story.

The Vice documentary was never released but in 2019, British director Charlie Russell approached McAfee about a potential follow-up. “This is a man who lived his life like he was the protagonist of a movie,” says Russell. “He’s clearly trying to control his own narrative – but how much anyone can do that over a period of years, let alone a man in his 70s who drinks heavily and advocates the use of mind-altering substances. I’m not sure.”

Russell – whose Bafta-winning CV includes acclaimed films about Terry Pratchett, Caroline Flack and Chris Packham – sifted through hundreds of hours of unseen footage. He skilfully uses Castoro and King’s raw material, supplemented by new interviews, to build a portrait of McAfee’s dissolute life and dramatic downfall.

“John came up with an elaborate plan to allow us to interview him,” says Russell. “We would fly to a European airport and be met by his security team, who would take away our phones, put bags over our heads and drive us around for five hours so we’d have no idea of John’s location. I later discovered that this sort of behaviour was pretty standard for John. He liked to constantly test those around him. We didn’t get the chance to discover whether the danger was real or not. By the time we were in a position to travel post-pandemic, John had been picked up by the authorities.”

After the escape artist’s arrest in the Dominican Republic in 2019, things take a darker turn. By the end of the documentary, big questions surround McAfee’s tale, and Faull’s murder remains unsolved. This tragedy hangs over the entire film, preventing it from becoming a larger-than-life lark. Another dark twist comes when ghostwriter Alex Cody Foster discovers that during his troubled teens, McAfee might have shot his abusive father and made it look like suicide. “John was the virus,” concludes Foster. Whatever McAfee’s truth, this fever dream of a documentary certainly gets under your skin.

• Documentary
• John McAfee

Most viewed

• San Lorenzo
• Yacht Rental in Dubai Marina
• Yacht Party Dubai
• Overnight Experience
• Formula 1 Abu Dhabi
• Corporate Events
• Fifa World Cup 2022
• Anniversary Celebrations

Connect with a yacht expert & get per personalised Deals

Jordan Belfort Yacht: The True Story and The Wolf of Wall Street Version

The true Jordan Belfort yacht story is as strange and unbelievable as the hit movie The Wolf of Wall Street depicts it to be. There are several insider stories behind the sinking of the mighty yacht that are not widely known but are quite interesting and different from the reel version in several ways.

What happened to the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine?

As the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street shows, the superyacht Nadine sank close to the coast of Sardinia in 1997 while battling what many calls “the storm of the century”. Jordan Belfort narrates the event in detail in the memoir describing his life in the 90s, which is what the Martin Scorsese movie is about.

Before getting into the details of the sinking, it is worth noting that the 37m yacht had a long and interesting history. She carried renowned celebrities like Coco Chanel before reaching Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie) and was one of the largest yachts in the East Coast’s waters.

While the yacht was initially manufactured for a French native and given the name Matilda, he backed out of the deal. This led Coco Chanel to buy the beautiful yacht with the low superstructure that Dutch yachts are famous for.

You can learn more about our yacht charter services in Dubai

The yacht took on different names as it passed through famous hands, even those of the murder trial acquitted Melvin Lane Powers. Belfort named the yacht after his wife and renovated it with the capacity to carry a helicopter, 6 Jetskis, 4 motorbikes, and much more. Under Belfort’s ownership, the yacht witnessed a series of wild parties that were like unlimited glamour and fun in a package until disaster struck unexpectedly.

Did the yacht scene in The Wolf of Wall Street actually happen?

The Jordan Belfort yacht sinking scene in The Wolf of Wall Street was heavily inspired by a real-life event, though the movie did take some creative liberties. For one, the yacht was called Naomi in the reel version since the name of Belfort’s wife (played by Margot Robbie ) was changed in the movie. In reality, the yacht was named Nadine.

The movie further depicts Belfort’s helicopter getting thrown off the yacht by strong waves. In reality, the yacht’s crew went up to the deck and pushed off the helicopter so that Italian navy seals would have a space to land. The yacht’s itinerary was altered a bit by the movie’s director Martin Scorsese to add to the drama, though the power of the storm was scarily accurate.

Belfort admitted that the yacht’s captain Mark Elliot explicitly warned them not to sail to Sardinia on that fateful night. But according to the movie, there was a business opportunity in the city that Belfort could not bear to miss out on despite his wife’s protests.

Some sources claim that in reality, the passengers were simply eager to hit the golf course at Sardinia the next morning. They refused to pay heed to the captain’s warning and asked him to go through the storm, which eventually led to the famous Jordan Belfort yacht sinking incident. Therefore, unfortunately, if someone wants to have a yacht rental in Dubai or any other destination, they have missed their chance with this yacht.

Take a look on our Yacht Dubai Party

Interesting insights on the sinking as portrayed in the movie

The movie captures the fear and stress that each passenger felt when the yacht got caught up in the 70-knot storm. There is some hilarity when Belfort starts yelling for his drugs to avoid the horror of dying sober.

Several rescue attempts were made, but due to rising risks, each of them was called off. By some twist of luck, the yacht’s engine room remained mostly undamaged for a while, because of which they were able to make their way through the sea.

In the end, everyone survived the incident without any major injuries. At dawn, the Nadine made its way 1000m under the water only 20 miles away from Sardinia’s coast. Now, the movie’s audience gets to watch the Jordan Belfort yacht story unfold on the screen with a pinch of humor.

The Nadine’s captain Mark Elliot’s heroic actions did not go unnoticed. He was praised for leading all the passengers to safety, though he was able to get out of the yacht only 10 minutes before it sank. The captain also admitted that the insurance was granted immediately considering the ferocity of the storm. As for the yacht, many still wonder about the highly expensive equipment that had to be thrown into the water and is probably rusting away at the bottom of the sea.

The best features of the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine

The 167 ft Nadine, as its former passengers claim, was a beautiful yacht. When owned by Coco Chanel under the name Matilda, the yacht had five staterooms, large dining areas, and a helipad. The interiors were furnished with dark teak paneling. Each new owner customized the yacht’s name and interiors based on their tastes.

Belfort decorated the Nadine lavishly with a variety of mirrors and set a vintage deco theme. He renovated the upper deck to fit a crane that was able to stow his Turbine Seawind seaplane. The yacht carried the best dive gear available in the market plus a variety of Belfort’s ‘toys’ such as his motorbikes and jetskis.

Which model was portrayed as the Jordan Belfort yacht Nadine in the movie?

Martin Scorsese got the yacht Lady M to represent Nadine onscreen. While Nadine actually had a luxuriously vintage charm to it, Lady M is a modern vessel with contemporary features. Lady M was manufactured in 2022 by Intermarine Savannah, while Nadine was built in 1961 by Witsen & Wis. The 147 ft Lady M is currently worth $12 million and is similar to Benetti yachts in its glamorous design.

Jordan Belfort’s life today

The entrepreneur and speaker Jordan Belfort’s shenanigans are well-known thanks to his detailed memoir and the hit movie based on some parts of his life. He spent 2 years in prison and now, at 59 years of age, has a practically negative net worth. Yet, his extraordinary motivational speaking skills continue to attract and inspire people even today.

It is easy for anyone watching the movie to wonder if many of the incidents are exaggerated. But considering Belfort’s eccentric life, even the Nadine sinking incident remains another regular anecdote shared in the movie.

PER HOUR Per Day

Browse our Yachts

Iconic Scenes: The Wolf of Wall Street – The Yacht Bribe

I love The Wolf of Wall Street . I think it is a spectacular film that seems to grow more relevant as time passes. I also think that the central character and narrator, Jordan Belfort, is not the most important or key character – that is Agent Denham. So I’m looking at the brilliant scene where Belfort and Denham first meet.

What Happens

Multi-millionaire and thoroughly corrupt stockbroker Jordan Belfort invites two FBI agents to his luxury yacht after he learns that they are investigating him. Agent Denham, and a virtually silent partner, arrive for what starts as a very friendly meeting. Belfort hands over some of the information the FBI has been trying to get while constantly trying to impress them with his wealth and insisting he’s done nothing wrong. Belfort draws Denham into a conversation and it seems the FBI agent is not happy at being given the case and would be willing to play ball with Belfort. At which point, Belfort tries to bribe Denham, and then the tone changes. It’s immediately obvious that Denham is not willing to play ball and is determined to bring Belfort down. The conversation gets increasingly acrimonious and ends with Belfort literally throwing lobsters and handfuls of cash at the departing FBI agents.

When you sail on a yacht fit for a Bond villain, sometimes you gotta act the part

DiCaprio is sensational in this scene. Despite getting very good advice not to contact the FBI and try some scheming, this is exactly what Belfort does. They meet on his insanely luxurious yacht, where Belfort has beautiful women lounging on chairs, he is dressed in bright white “yacht clothes” and constantly turning on his beaming smile. He offers them lobsters and drinks. It does not seem to occur to Belfort that showing off his immense, and ill-gotten wealth, might not be the best idea when you’re being investigated for crimes in the stock market.

Belfort’s attempt at bribery is fantastic. Basically detailing a story where he advised someone in need of money in what stocks to invest in and that person making a fortune and how Belfort “would be willing to do that for anyone”. When challenged about this being a bribe Belfort reveals he researched what legally constitutes a bribe and that wouldn’t count. Again, it’s a little suspicious for someone to be able to recite the criminal code of a crime if they’re not a lawyer.

Good for you, Little Man

Oh, Agent Denham, you film stealing hero. Denham is played by Kyle Chandler who, and this is important for the Denham role, is your go-to guy for American decency (if you need someone younger than Tom Hanks), he is probably best known for his role in Friday Night Lights where he played an honourable, upstanding and inspirational football coach. Denham’s casual chatting with Belfort seems to suggest he is not interested in the case and possibly dissatisfied with his job, the attempted bribe being when he flips to his real character.

As Belfort becomes more aggressive Denham responds in kind and leads to one of the all-time best deliveries, “Good for you, little man,” when sarcastically congratulating Belfort on becoming a Wall Street douchebag without any help from anyone else. Belfort is stunned by this comment but mainly in that he can’t understand it…he’s rich, really rich, how can he be a “little man”, he’s a giant. A colossus. The embodiment of the American Dream. The thing is, of course, Denham is right.

Fun Coupons

A lot of this scene is purely about status. Of all the places Belfort could have met with the FBI agents he chooses his insanely expensive yacht. He is obsessed with money and how much the FBI agents make, originally pretending to be sympathetic but quickly changing to just mocking them. Belfort assumes that because Denham works for the FBI for what to him is an insignificant amount of money he is a loser. The idea that Denham might believe in what he’s doing is either inconceivable or at best a pitiable weakness. To me, this is the best and most interesting scene in the whole film – not the drug-filled hedonistic parties, not the cult-like team talks Belfort gives his employees, not the incredibly charismatic phone calls Belfort makes when selling stocks but this scene where Denham sizes up Belfort and sees right through him.

Years ago David Cross and Bob Odenkirk made a sketch show called Mr. Show , which contained a sketch based on the premise “someone who makes more money than you is better than you”, so Van Gogh, Einstein and Galileo are actually pretty unsuccessful people. This is Jordan Belfort’s philosophy – he is better than just about everyone he meets because he is richer.

The Hero I’m Going To Be Back At The Office, When The Bureau seizes this boat!

All Belfort manages to do in this scene is upset the FBI and probably convince them that yes, he is absolutely breaking the law. It’s an interesting look at the dynamic of power in America (and indeed the whole world) – who is the more powerful person? Belfort with his huge personal wealth or Denham as a federal officer, a representative of the most powerful country on Earth. There was a lot of discussion at the time about if people actually saw Belfort as the hero of this film, that people liked him and wanted him to win. I saw this as Goodfellas but for white-collar crime. In this scene Belfort helps further his own downfall, antagonising the FBI. In the final moments of this scene, Belfort has just finished throwing money at Denham and his arrogance and deluded grandeur fade as he realises he has just made a terrible mistake.

Also Read: Iconic Scenes: American Psycho – Business Card Scene

Richard Norton

Gentleman, podcaster and pop culture nerd, I love talking and writing about pretty much all pop culture.

Share with friends

You may also like.

Scorsese’s Silver Screen Legends: De Niro vs. DiCaprio

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Can Open For More Indigenous Storytelling and Talent

The Dark Side of Las Vegas on Film

The Legendary Collaboration of Jim Henson and George Lucas: Pioneers of Fantasy and Effects

Rethinking Audience Development In The UK Independent Screen Sector In 2024

The New Frontier of the Western

Anatomy Of A Scene: The Godfather – Restaurant Scene

The New Hollywood: Streaming Giants

How will Netflix’s $5 Billion deal with the WWE affect its documentary on Vince McMahon in light of recent allegations?

Sofía Vergara Transforms into the Infamous Griselda Blanco in Netflix’s Latest Drama

Review: Fargo Season 5

Privacy overview.

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Credit card rates
• Balance transfer credit cards
• Business credit cards
• Cash back credit cards
• Rewards credit cards
• Travel credit cards
• Checking accounts
• Online checking accounts
• High-yield savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Car insurance
• Home buying
• Options pit
• Investment ideas
• Research reports
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

John McAfee Netflix documentary throws up two new mysteries in controversial life and death of tech pioneer

“My decisions are the same decisions any average human would make.” So starts a new documentary on the manic life and mysterious death of the cyber security mogul-turned-fugitive John McAfee . To anyone not already familiar with McAfee, it soon becomes clear that he was far from “any average human”.

Running With the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee , released on Netflix this week, follows the confusing and chaotic final years of the controversial tech pioneer, picking up his story more than three decades after he created the eponymous antivirus software.

Like many other contextual keystones, the film skims over the founding of his company, which he left in 1994 but is now worth more than $4 billion. It also only briefly mentions his childhood, his work at Nasa on the space shuttle program, and everything else that happened in the first 67 years of his life.

Instead, it begins in 2012 when he is on the run following the murder of Gregory Faull – McAfee’s nextdoor neighbour when he was living in Belize – and again in 2019 when he fled the US to avoid tax evasion charges.

The lack of broader context seems unnecessary in the glare of the intense spotlight shone on McAfee during these frenzied periods, where we get to see him at his most paranoid, his most cavalier, and potentially most dangerous.

Heading into international waters off the coast of Florida in 2019, on a boat apparently used in the film The Wolf of Wall Street , McAfee has with him bodyguards, dogs, and an arsenal of weapons that could rival a small militia. Also onboard are drugs, bath salts, and “more alcohol than water”.

Seemingly under the influence of one or several of these substances, McAfee is recorded firing guns on the boat and searching under his bed and in boat cavities for “evil people” who might be hiding there.

Videographer Robert King, who provides the footage from both Belize and onboard the boat, says at one point: “I was so f**king scared, John was f**ked up… this was our host that had gone mad.”

After having a gun pointed at his toe, King flees the boat and abandons his filming of McAfee. “That’s when I realised, maybe John is capable of murder,” King says.

It is unclear whether or not McAfee’s threat was a serious one or just part of his dark sense of humour. “Mad man, psychopath, paranoid, drug-addled millionaire, call me what you want,” he says.

Directed by Charlie Russell, whose previous subjects have included gigolos and OAP escorts, the documentary offers the most illuminating and personal insight into McAfee that has ever been caught on film – yet viewers will still come away not knowing who he really is.

This is all part of the mystique McAfee tried to curate for himself. One of the most revealing moments comes towards the end, when an inebriated McAfee offers what he describes as “gold” to the cameraman. “I will fabricate whatever reality I see fit to keep eyeballs on us,” he says. “I have fabricated a perception that is matched in reality.”

Where the actual truth lies is left up to the viewer to decide. The documentary ends up providing more questions than it does answers, with two brand new mysteries to ponder. The first concerns the suicide of McAfee’s father, with previously unheard recordings suggesting that the story may be far more sinister.

It echoes the uncertainty surrounding McAfee’s own death, who allegedly hung himself in a Catalan prison cell last year – something his wife has consistently refuted. Janice McAfee, who features throughout but is never directly interviewed by the filmmaker, claims that McAfee was not suicidal and has questioned the official narrative put forward by Spanish authorities. She has even launched a campaign calling for the return of McAfee’s body, which remains in a Spanish morgue more than a year after his death.

The second mystery builds on the conspiracy of McAfee’s death. In the final words of the documentary, ex girlfriend Samantha Herrera questions not just how he died, but whether he died at all . She recounts: “After his death, I got a call from Texas. ‘It’s me John, I paid off people to pretend that I am dead, but I am not dead.”

Recommended Stories

Jon rahm reveals his menu for the 2024 masters champions dinner.

Rahm won the 2023 Masters by four strokes over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.

NFL free agency good, bad and ugly: How has your favorite team done so far?

Which teams should be most excited after a week of NFL free agency?

Pass or Fail: Houston Texans show off new road uniforms after Reddit leak

Texans CEO and Chairman Cal McNair took to Reddit to show off one of the team's new uniform combinations in response to a leak.

The CEO of Warren Buffett's favorite oil company thinks its stock is 'very undervalued'

Occidental Petroleum's CEO said the company will focus on paying off debt for the next couple of years as it puts a pause on aggressive share buybacks.

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards throws down ridiculous dunk of the year over John Collins in win vs. Jazz

John Collins got put on a wild poster on Monday night, and had to leave the game due to a head injury.

A 15-year problem that has plagued corporate America is finally turning around

Productivity is rebounding after 15 years of no gains. That could help drive stocks higher.

Baker Mayfield gets called 'a 10 on the pr--- scale' by Bucs GM, then thanks him: 'I'll take that'

Baker took it as a compliment, even though it didn't really sound like one.

2024 Fantasy Baseball: Andy Behrens' potential 'league-winners' from recent Tout Wars draft

Fantasy baseball analyst Andy Behrens reveals his favorite picks from his recent Tout Wars draft while exposing the truth about league winners.

Has Caitlin Clark locked up Naismith Player of the Year? Here are 5 contenders for the nation's top award

Clark's record-breaking season has transcended college basketball, but there are several deserving candidates this season.

Fed's inflation fight will affect housing supply for decades, says Redfin CEO

The housing market is showing signs of a recovery, but Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman warns higher rates will affect the housing sector for decades.

2024 Fantasy Baseball: Jackson Holliday leads 5 key draft sleepers from the infield

Dalton Del Don examines potential draft values with the upside to make a difference in fantasy baseball leagues.

MLB 26-and-under power rankings, Nos. 15-11: Minnesota's Royce Lewis, Boston's Triston Casas lead young cores on the rise

The Twins, Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees and Cubs make up the next tier on this year's list.

Nearing a loaded 2024 NFL Draft, Justin Fields and the 2021 QB class remind us the position is a crapshoot

Why Fields wasn’t scooped by other teams largely centers on his one year of rookie contract control, which features a fifth-year option that will be set at $25.6 million.

Aaron Rodgers says 'Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy' in wake of report he believed in conspiracy theory

Rodgers' statement comes a day after a CNN story detailing comments Rodgers made about the shooting in 2013.

Russell Wilson's hurried deal with Steelers may say a lot about his intentions, and Pittsburgh's

Wilson's announced deal with Pittsburgh went down before free agency even began. Why were both sides so quick to link up?

NFL free agency: Moves that caught our attention so far, from the Patriots (good) to some running backs (odd)

Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice breaks down the moves that stuck out to him now that the initial dust has settled on Tamperpalooza.

NFL Draft 2024: Top 50 big board is heavy on offense, starting with Drake Maye and Caleb Williams at the top

Yahoo Sports NFL Draft expert Nate Tice delivers his first top 50 of this draft cycle, with breakdowns of each prospect's strengths, weaknesses, projections and more.

Kyrie Irving hits wild left-handed floater at the buzzer to lift Mavericks past Nuggets

Kyrie Irving lifted the Mavericks to a huge 107-105 win over the Nuggets on Sunday afternoon.

Netflix's 'Receiver' series to follow 5 NFL players, including George Kittle, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel

The eight-episode Netflix series follow last year's "Quarterback," which documented the 2022 seasons of Kirk Cousins, Patrick Mahomes and Marcus Mariota.

Florida's Micah Handlogten stretchered out of SEC championship after horrific leg injury

Florida's Micah Handlogten is headed to the hospital after taking a hard fall against Auburn.

The True Story Behind 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

What's the deal with the real Jordan Belfort?

The Big Picture

• The Wolf of Wall Street accurately reflects the true story of Jordan Belfort's illegal activities and debaucherous lifestyle on Wall Street.
• The film's depiction of Jordan Belfort's drug use, involvement with sex workers, and criminality is mostly accurate, with some embellishments for dramatic effect.
• Several characters in the film, including Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) and Steve Madden (Jake Hoffman), are based on real people who were involved in Belfort's schemes and faced legal consequences.

Martin Scorsese ’s The Wolf of Wall Street is a darkly comedic portrayal of unrestrained Wall Street hedonism and greed that ranks among the maestro’s greatest works of the last decade. Scorsese clearly excels at translating true stories into film, as seen with his newest release, Killers of the Flower Moon . Like all narrative films based on true stories, The Wolf of Wall Street takes a few liberties with Jordan Belfort’s life and crimes, such as using Jonah Hill ’s Donnie Azoff character as a stand-in for multiple real-life friends of Belfort’s.

Overall, though, the film is remarkably accurate and certainly conveys the underlying truths of Belfort’s 2007 memoir, which was the primary source material for the film . Although the film is three hours long , some details and interesting subplots were unable to make the final cut. As we explore the real-life stories of some of the film’s principal characters, we’ll see where Scorsese’s film diverted from the truth, and we’ll understand the additional context that helps add complexity to this remarkable, hilarious, and tragic story.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

Who Is the Real Jordan Belfort?

The overall story of Jordan Belfort ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) and his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont, as presented in Scorsese’s film , is true to life. Belfort was violating probably hundreds of laws at any given time, most of which involved defrauding his shareholders and manipulating the stock of dozens of companies. He recruited young, mostly working-class kids from Long Island to work at Stratton and indoctrinated them into what he repeatedly calls, in his 2007 memoir, a “cult.” They were taught to worship at the altar of money and to con their clients into buying worthless stock. While all this was happening in his professional life, Belfort’s personal life was plagued by addictions to numerous illegal substances, primarily cocaine and Quaaludes. He cheated on his first wife with a woman nicknamed “The Duchess of Bay Ridge,” played by Margot Robbie in the film . He later married the Duchess, and they had a tumultuous relationship filled with deceit and abuse that ended in divorce. Eventually, Belfort was caught by the FBI and after serving 22 months in federal prison , became a writer and motivational speaker. His first memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street , was published in 2007.

Steven Spielberg Helped Martin Scorsese Direct This 'The Wolf of Wall Street' Scene

Perhaps the biggest surprise to be found in Belfort’s memoir is that most of what is depicted in the film is true, at least according to Belfort’s best recollection. The copious amounts of drugs, the proliferation of sex workers, and rampant criminality are all depicted pretty accurately . Many of the more outrageous scenes in the film, such as when a female employee has her head shaved for $10,000, are true. Stratton Oakmont was notoriously depraved, but much of that depravity was inspired by existing financial institutions, some of them prestigious, others far less so. In other words, Belfort didn’t invent the practice of defrauding shareholders while snorting countless lines of cocaine, but he did engage in these illegal activities more frequently and ostentatiously than most.

Not All of 'The Wolf of Wall Street' Is Accurate, Though

One aspect of the film that accurately conveys Belfort’s mindset and perspective is its frequent use of fourth-wall-breaking narrations , in which Belfort speaks directly to the camera/audience . In his book, Belfort writes, “It was as if my life was a stage, and the Wolf of Wall Street was performing for the benefit of some imaginary audience.” Of course, that audience turned out to be real. Perhaps it was this idea of playing a character that led Belfort to dub himself the “Wolf of Wall Street.” There is scant evidence that anyone referred to him by that moniker until after the publication of his book. Belfort makes it seem throughout his memoir that people constantly called him “The Wolf” but that appears to be, at best, a creative embellishment.

In an effort to perhaps make Belfort seem a bit less crazed than his on-screen persona, it should be mentioned that despite the film citing “back pain” in air quotes as a reason for his drug habit, Belfort really did have constant back issues that required multiple surgeries. He would often use his health problems as a partial excuse for abusing various substances, but the film downplays his reliance on pharmaceuticals to alleviate his chronic pain . Belfort also wasn’t reckless or dumb enough to attempt to bribe an FBI agent, as depicted in the film. Belfort never even interacted with the FBI agent pursuing him until he was arrested.

One especially dramatic moment in Scorsese's unhinged biopic that is only partially true is when Belfort gives a speech to his employees, informing them that he is stepping down as leader and handing over the reins to Jonah Hill’s character Donnie. Then, mid-speech, he decides to reverse course and screams “ I’m not fucking leaving!” to rapturous applause. In reality, Belfort did step down but heavily implied in his speech that he would still be running Stratton from the sidelines by giving “advice” to Donnie’s real-life counterpart. Of course, once Belfort relinquished control, Stratton went on a downward spiral from which it would never recover.

Jonah Hill's Donnie Azoff Is Based on Danny Porush

Donnie Azoff is based on a real person named Danny Porush, who was Belfort’s right-hand man at Stratton and apparently an out-of-control Quaalude addict. Porush was introduced to Belfort through his wife. He was not, as the film depicts, a children’s furniture salesman who quit his job to work for Belfort when he saw one of Belfort’s pay stubs. In an interview with Mother Jones , Porush denied that several events depicted in the film ever happened, including the infamous dwarf-tossing scene (an idea that was seemingly shot down by Belfort for being too outrageous). He also confirmed to Mother Jones that nobody at the firm ever actually referred to Belfort as “The Wolf” or “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Although the film depicts Donnie as being resuscitated by Belfort after choking on food while under the influence of Quaaludes, it was actually another friend of Belfort’s whose life was saved when Belfort performed CPR on him. Porush similarly was not aboard Belfort’s yacht when it capsized and sank during a storm (that was another group of friends, all of whom were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard). Porush did, however, admit to eating an employee’s goldfish in order to send a message. Amazingly, it’s also true that Porush married his first cousin and brought Belfort to a crack den. He spent 20 months in prison after the FBI unraveled Stratton’s schemes .

'The Wolf of Wall Street's Steve Madden Turned Criminal

Steve Madden ( Jake Hoffman ), the famous shoe designer, was childhood friends with Danny Porush and was roped into his old friend’s lawlessness ( Madden would end up being sentenced to 41 months in prison ). While Madden has a relatively quick cameo in the film, he looms much larger in Belfort’s memoir. Madden was actually personally and professionally closer to Belfort than he was to Porush. According to Belfort, Madden even offered to co-run his shoe company with Belfort , with Madden focusing on designing shoes and Belfort focusing on the manufacturing and distribution side of the business. After leaving Stratton, Belfort worked for Madden for a while until their relationship soured. Then the FBI took them both down. Madden ultimately was convicted of stock manipulation, money laundering, and securities fraud.

Who Is Chester Ming's Real-Life Counterpart?

The merry band of misfits and former weed dealers that make up the core Stratton staff are mostly based on real people, but their exact work histories and relationships to Belfort are either simplified or omitted from the film. The Chester Ming ( Kenneth Choi ) character, for example, is based on a real person named Victor Wang , who had a much more interesting role to play in Belfort’s memoir than in the film . Victor wanted to start his own firm and was thus viewed with suspicion by Belfort. It turns out the suspicion was justified. Within days of forming his own business, Victor began spreading rumors that Stratton was on the verge of collapse. He later started poaching Stratton stockbrokers who preferred to work at Victor’s firm in Manhattan over Belfort’s firm on Long Island . Unbeknownst to Victor, Belfort was “waging a secret war” against him the whole time, which resulted in Victor’s new firm going belly up. It's also true that Victor assaulted Belfort’s butler and dangled him out of a window. Victor ended up being sentenced to eight years in prison.

Bo Dietl Appears in 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' 'The Irishman,' & 'Goodfellas'

Bo Dietl is a private investigator and former New York mayoral candidate with a long history of popping up in Scorsese’s films. Dietl appeared in Goodfellas as the detective who arrested Henry Hill and was cast in a memorable supporting role in The Irishman . Believe it or not, Dietl actually knew Belfort and berated him for plotting a scheme to bug the FBI. Dietl also introduced Belfort to an FBI agent, dug up some information about the FBI’s investigation into Stratton Oakmont, and helped keep alleged Mob members and other troublemakers from causing any problems at Belfort’s firm. Dietl ended up playing himself in The Wolf of Wall Street .

Tommy Chong Was Cellmates With Jordan Belfort in Prison

Perhaps the oddest fact concerning The Wolf of Wall Street is that Belfort’s cellmate in prison was none other than Tommy Chong , the legendary stoner and actor. In an interview with New York Magazine , Belfort credited Chong with inspiring him to write a memoir. Chong apparently found Belfort to be endlessly entertaining. “The Quaalude stories are my favorite,” Chong told New York Magazine .

The Wolf of Wall Street is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+

• 12 Mighty Orphans
• 12 Years a Slave
• 15:17 to Paris, The
• 300: Rise of an Empire
• 80 for Brady
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• A Journal for Jordan
• A Million Miles Away
• A Small Light
• Against the Ice
• All Eyez on Me
• All My Life
• American Gangster
• American Hustle
• American Made
• American Sniper
• American Underdog
• Amityville Horror (1979)
• Amityville Horror (2005)
• Annabelle: Creation
• Antwone Fisher
• Arthur the King
• Bad Education
• Battle of the Sexes
• Beanie Bubble, The
• Beautiful Boy
• Beauty and the Beast
• Being the Ricardos
• Best of Enemies, The
• Big Lebowski
• Big Short, The
• Big Sick, The
• BlacKkKlansman
• Bleed for This
• Blind Side, The
• Bling Ring, The
• Blue Miracle
• Boardwalk Empire
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Boston Strangler
• Boys Don't Cry
• Boys in the Boat, The
• Breakthrough
• Brian Banks
• Bridge of Spies
• Burial, The
• Butler, The
• Bye Bye Man, The
• Calendar Girls
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Captain Phillips
• Case for Christ, The
• Catch Me If You Can
• Charlie Wilson's War
• Chasing Mavericks
• Cocaine Bear
• Concrete Cowboy
• Conjuring 2, The
• Conjuring, The
• Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The
• Courier, The
• Crowded Room, The
• Current War, The
• Danish Girl, The
• Danny Collins
• Darkest Hour
• Dear Edward
• Death of Stalin, The
• Deepwater Horizon
• Deliver Us From Evil
• Devil Wears Prada, The
• Disappointments Room, The
• Disaster Artist, The
• Dolemite Is My Name
• Donnie Brasco
• Downton Abbey
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
• Dream Horse
• Dropout, The
• Eddie the Eagle
• Emancipation
• End of the Tour, The
• Erin Brockovich
• Exorcism of Emily Rose, The
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
• Eyes of Tammy Faye, The
• Fabelmans, The
• Farewell, The
• Fault in Our Stars, The
• Favourite, The
• Fighter, The
• Fighting with My Family
• Finding Neverland
• Finest Hours, The
• Five Days at Memorial
• Flamin' Hot
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Ford v Ferrari
• Founder, The
• Free State of Jones
• Freedom Writers
• Gigi and Nate
• Girl from Plainville, The
• Glass Castle, The
• Goldbergs, The
• Good Nurse, The
• Good on Paper
• Goodbye Christopher Robin
• Gran Turismo
• Greatest Beer Run Ever, The
• Greatest Showman, The
• Gridiron Gang
• Hacksaw Ridge
• Hands of Stone
• Haunting in Connecticut, The
• Heaven is for Real
• Hidden Figures
• Hillbilly Elegy
• Hollywoodland
• House of Gucci
• Hurricane, The
• I Am the Night
• I Can Only Imagine
• I Saw the Light
• I Still Believe
• I Wanna Dance with Somebody
• Imitation Game, The
• Infiltrator, The
• Inventing Anna
• Irishman, The
• Iron Claw, The
• Jerry and Marge Go Large
• Jersey Boys
• Jesus Revolution
• Jimi: All Is by My Side
• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Kill the Messenger
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• King Arthur
• King Richard
• Last Duel, The
• Last Full Measure, The
• League of Their Own, A
• Lone Survivor
• Lost City of Z, The
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
• Maggie Moore(s)
• Man Who Invented Christmas, The
• Masters of the Air
• Mauritanian, The
• McFarland, USA
• Megan Leavey
• Men of Honor
• Military Wives
• Million Dollar Arm
• Miracles from Heaven
• Molly's Game
• Monuments Men, The
• Mothman Prophecies, The
• Mrs. America
• Munich: The Edge of War
• My All American
• Next Goal Wins
• Not Without My Daughter
• Old Man & the Gun, The
• On a Wing and a Prayer
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• One and Only Ivan, The
• Only the Brave
• Operation Finale
• Operation Mincemeat
• Oppenheimer
• Ordinary Angels
• Outlaw King
• Outpost, The
• Pain & Gain
• Pain Hustlers
• Passion of the Christ, The
• Patch Adams
• Patriots Day
• Pawn Sacrifice
• Penguin Bloom
• People v. O.J. Simpson, The
• Pianist, The
• Pope's Exorcist, The
• Prayer Before Dawn, A
• Promise, The
• Public Enemies
• Pursuit of Happyness, The
• Queen of Katwe
• Quiet Ones, The
• Railway Man, The
• Remember the Titans
• Rescued by Ruby
• Revenant, The
• Richard Jewell
• Right Stuff, The
• Rookie, The
• Saving Mr. Banks
• Saving Private Ryan
• Schindler's List
• Serpent, The
• Slender Man
• Social Network, The
• Society of the Snow
• Soul Surfer
• Sound of Freedom
• Staircase, The
• Survivor, The
• Tender Bar, The
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The
• Texas Rising
• Theory of Everything, The
• Thing About Pam, The
• Thirteen Lives
• To Write Love on Her Arms
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Trees of Peace
• Trial of the Chicago 7, The
• True Spirit
• United Kingdom, A
• United States vs. Billie Holiday, The
• Upside, The
• Victoria and Abdul
• Walk the Line
• Watcher, The
• We Own This City
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
• Welcome to Marwen
• When the Game Stands Tall
• When They See Us
• White Boy Rick
• White House Plumbers
• Wicked Little Letters
• Wolf of Wall Street, The
• Woman in Gold
• Woman King, The
• Zookeeper's Wife, The

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Did jordan belfort really meet his future business partner in a restaurant.

What was the name of Belfort's brokerage house?

The Wolf of Wall Street true story confirms that, like in the movie, Stratton Oakmont was the name of the real Jordan Belfort's Long Island, New York brokerage house. Belfort and co-founder Danny Porush (played by Jonah Hill in the movie) chose the name because it sounded prestigious ( NYTimes.com ). The firm would later be accused of manipulating the IPOs of at least 34 companies, including Steve Madden Ltd. (their biggest deal), Dualstar Technologies, Paramount Financial, D.V.I. Financial, M. H. Meyerson & Co., Czech Industries, M.V.S.I. Technology, Questron Technologies, and Etel Communications.

What exactly did Jordan Belfort do that was illegal?

Belfort's Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm ran a classic "pump and dump" operation. Belfort and several of his executives would buy up a particular company's stock and then have an army of brokers (following a script he had prepared) sell it to unsuspecting investors. This would cause the stock to rise, pretty much guaranteeing Belfort and his associates a substantial profit. Soon, the stock would fall back to reality, with the investors bearing a significant loss. -NYTimes.com

How many employees worked for Jordan Belfort's brokerage firm?

At its peak in the 1990s, Stratton Oakmont, Belfort's firm that he co-founded with Danny Porush, employed more than 1,000 brokers. -TheDailyBeast.com

Danny Porush says the movie's dwarf-tossing scene (above) never happened. Even Belfort's book only discusses it as a possibility. Did Jordan Belfort really host an in-office dwarf-tossing competition?

No. "We never abused [or threw] the midgets in the office; we were friendly to them," Danny Porush (the real Donnie Azoff) says. "There was no physical abuse." Porush does admit that the firm hired little people to attend at least one party. Jordan Belfort's memoir The Wolf of Wall Street only discusses the tossing of little people as a possibility, not something that actually happened. -MotherJones.com

During what years did the events in the movie take place?

The events in The Wolf of Wall Street movie took place during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush founded the brokerage firm of Stratton Oakmont in the late 1980s. The securities fraud and money laundering charges brought against the firm involved companies that Stratton Oakmont helped raise money for in public stock offerings from 1990 through 1997. In 1996, Stratton Oakmont was banned from the brokerage industry, which eventually forced the company to close its doors. -NYTimes.com

Was Jordan Belfort really known as the "wolf" of Wall Street?

No, at least not according to the former co-founder and president of the Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm, Danny Porush (portrayed by Jonah Hill in the movie). The real Porush says that he is not aware of anyone at the firm calling Jordan the "wolf." Porush says that it's just one of a number of exaggerations and inventions in both Belfort's book and the movie. -MotherJones.com

Is Matthew McConaughey's character, Mark Hanna, based on a real person?

Yes. In exploring The Wolf of Wall Street true story, we learned that Jordan Belfort claims to have met Matthew McConaughey's character's real-life counterpart, Mark Hanna, in 1987 when he was working at the old-money trading firm of L.F. Rothschild. His new acquaintance was an uproarious senior broker at the firm and introduced Belfort to the excess and debauchery that Belfort would later make a daily staple at Stratton Oakmont. Like in the movie, the real Mark Hanna behind McConaughey's character told Belfort that the key to success was masturbation, cocaine and hookers, in addition to making your customers reinvest their winnings so you can collect the commissions. -TheDailyBeast.com

Did Jordan Belfort really abuse cocaine and other drugs?

Yes. In The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is shown snorting cocaine off a prostitute's backside and nearly crashing his private helicopter while high on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including Quaaludes, morphine and Xanax. In researching The Wolf of Wall Street true story, it quickly became clear that Belfort used drugs heavily in real life too. In his memoir, he states that at times he had enough "running through my circulatory system to sedate Guatemala."

Jordan Belfort did give speeches like DiCaprio in the movie (left). Right: The real Belfort speaks at a 1994 Stratton Oakmont Christmas party (right). Did Belfort really stand in front of his employees and give riling speeches with a microphone?

Yes. Belfort was known to stir his troops into action by belting out words of motivation through a microphone. However, his speeches were often filled with more self-adulation than DiCaprio's speeches in the movie.

Did a female employee really let them shave her head for $10,000 to pay for breast implants?

The real Jordan Belfort claims this is true in his memoir. The female employee let them shave off her blonde hair for $10,000, which she used to pay for D-cup breast implants. Co-founder Danny Porush also says that the shaving took place, "...the worst we ever did was shave somebody's head and then pay 'em ten grand for it," says Porush. -MotherJones.com

Was Jordan Belfort's Quaalude dealer in the movie, Brad Bodnick (Jon Bernthal), based on a real person?

Yes. The character in the movie, Brad Bodnick, who has a goatee and is portrayed by The Walking Dead 's Jon Bernthal, is based on Jordan Belfort's real-life Quaalude supplier, Todd Garret. In his memoir, the real Jordan Belfort claims that Garret sold him approximately 10,000 Quaaludes.

Was there ever a chimpanzee in the office?

No. According to co-founder Danny Porush (played by Jonah Hill in the movie), the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio's character pals around with a chimp is pure monkey business. "There was never a chimpanzee in the office," says Porush. "There were no animals in the office...I would also never abuse an animal in any way" (though he does admit to eating the goldfish, see below). -MotherJones.com

Did he really almost crash his helicopter in his yard?

Did Danny Porush really marry his own first cousin?

Yes. According to Jordan Belfort's memoir, the real Donnie Azoff (whose actual name is Danny Porush) did marry his first cousin Nancy "because she was a real piece of ass." After twelve years of marriage, the couple divorced in 1998 after Danny told Nancy that he was in love with another woman ( NYPost.com ). Danny and his ex-wife share three children together.

Did Belfort and his colleagues really have drug-addled nights and sexcapades with prostitutes on a near daily basis?

Though the movie and Belfort's memoir might seem like gross exaggerations of the truth, depicting heavy drug use and sexcapades in the office during trading hours, they're not exaggerations at all says the F.B.I. agent who finally took Belfort into custody, "I tracked this guy for ten years, and everything he wrote is true." Kyle Chandler portrays the agent in the Martin Scorsese movie. -NYTimes.com

Was Belfort really arrested for crashing his Lamborghini while high on expired Quaaludes?

Yes, but according to Belfort the car wasn't a Lamborghini like in the movie, it was a Mercedes. He was so high in a drug daze that he couldn't remember causing several different accidents as he tried to make his way home. In real life, one of the accidents was a head-on collision that actually sent a woman to the hospital. -TheDailyBeast.com

The real Donnie Azoff, Daniel Porush, says that he really did swallow a goldfish like Jonah Hill (pictured). Did Danny Porush really swallow a goldfish?

Yes. According to the real Donnie Azoff, whose actual name is Danny Porush, the scene where Jonah Hill's character eats a goldfish is based on a true story. "I said to one of the brokers, 'If you don't do more business, I'm gonna eat your goldfish!'" Porush recalls. "So I did." -MotherJones.com

Did they really tape money to a woman's body?

In one scene of The Wolf of Wall Street movie, bricks of cash are taped to a Swiss woman's body. "[I] never taped money to boobs," the real Danny Porush says (played by Jonah Hill in the movie). According to Jordan Belfort's memoir, the event did happen but his partner Porush wasn't there. -MotherJones.com

Was footwear mogul Steve Madden really involved in Belfort's scheme?

Yes. As shown in The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Steve Madden had been a childhood friend of Belfort's partner Danny Porush (renamed Donnie Azoff in the movie and portrayed by actor Jonah Hill). Their fondness for drugs and alcohol reunited the two of them. During the initial public offering of his footwear company, Steve Madden Ltd., Madden acquired a large number of shares of his company, which were actually being controlled by Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont. Once shares became available to the public, Stratton Oakmont got down to the business of selling them to unsuspecting suckers. Billing Madden's company as the hottest issue on Wall Street, Belfort's brokers in turn drove up the price. Eventually, Steve Madden was to sell off his shares when the hype was at its peak, just before the stock began its inevitable decline. Similar to what is seen in the movie, Belfort still maintains that Steve Madden tried to steal his Steve Madden shares from him. However, Jordan Belfort did make approximately $23 million in two hours as part of the deal with Steve Madden, who would later be charged as an accomplice to Belfort's scheme. -NYTimes.com For his part, Steve Madden was sentenced to 41 months in prison and was forced to resign as CEO of Steve Madden Ltd. He also resigned from the company's board of directors. However, he did not leave the company entirely. He kept his foot (or shoe) in the door by giving himself the title of creative consultant, for which he was well-compensated even while he was in prison. -Slate.com

Did Jordan Belfort really name his yacht after his wife?

Did Belfort's yacht really sink in a Mediterranean storm?

Yes. In real life, Belfort's 167-foot yacht, which was originally owned by Coco Chanel, sunk off the coast of Italy when Belfort, who was high on drugs at the time, insisted that the captain take the boat through a storm ( TheDailyBeast.com ). Listen to Belfort tell the story during The Room Live 's Jordan Belfort interview . As he states in the interview, his helicopter didn't fall off the boat during the storm like in the movie. Instead, they had to push the helicopter off of the top deck of the boat to make room for the rescue chopper to drop down an Italian Navy commando.

How long did FBI agent Gregory Coleman spend tracking Jordan Belfort and his firm?

FBI agent Gregory Coleman, renamed Patrick Denham for the film and portrayed by actor Kyle Chandler, made tracking Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont, a top priority for six years. In an interview ( watch here ), Coleman says that the factors that drew his attention to the firm were "the flashiness, the brashness of their activities, the blatantness of the way they were soliciting people and cold calling people, and the number of victims that were complaining on a daily basis." -CNBC

Did Jordan really strike his wife?

Yes. The Wolf of Wall Street movie shows Jordan (Leonardo DiCaprio) hitting his wife (Margot Robbie) with his hand and fist. According to his memoir, he actually kicked his wife Nadine down the stairs while he was holding his daughter. She landed on her right side with "tremendous force."

Did Belfort really endanger his 3-year-old daughter's life by crashing his car through the garage door?

Yes. In real life, he put his daughter Chandler in the front seat of the car without a seat belt on, before crashing it through the garage door and then driving full speed into a six-foot-high limestone pillar at the edge of the driveway. Like in the movie, he was high at the time.

Tommy Chong was Jordan Belfort's cellmate in prison and encouraged him to write the book. What was Jordan Belfort's punishment?

When he was finally arrested in 1998 for money laundering and securities fraud, Jordan Belfort was sentenced to four years in prison. This was after agreeing to wear a wire and provide the FBI with information to help prosecute various friends and associates. In the end, the true story reveals that he served only 22 months in a California federal prison. His cellmate in prison was Tommy Chong of "Cheech and Chong" fame, who was serving a nine month sentence for selling bongs. -TheDailyBeast.com

What inspired Jordan Belfort to write his memoir?

It wasn't so much a what as it was a who. Tommy Chong (one half of "Cheech and Chong") was Jordan Belfort's cellmate in prison. After laughing at some of Belfort's stories from his days running the firm, Chong encouraged him to write a book. -TheDailyBeast.com

Why is Jordan Belfort's memoir filled with so many exclamations?

Jordan Belfort attempted to model his writing after Hunter S. Thompson ( Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ), who was known for using plenty of exclamation points.

What happened to Belfort's partner, Danny Porush, portrayed by Jonah Hill in the movie?

Danny Porush, renamed Donnie Azoff for the movie and played by actor Jonah Hill, served 39 months in prison for his part in the corrupt dealings of Stratton Oakmont, the firm that he co-founded with Jordan Belfort. Porush currently runs a medical supply business in Florida, where he lives with his second wife Lisa in a $4 million mansion. A 2008 Forbes article pointed out his company's fraudulent tactics, which included trying to persuade people to order diabetic supplies and getting them to provide information about their physicians that could be used to bill Medicare. A number of complaints surfaced accusing Porush's company of sending unsolicited packages that were accompanied by unexpected Medicare charges. Back in 2001, Porush was arrested in connection to a fraud scheme surrounding Noble & Perrault Collectibles, a company that sold commemorative coins over the phone. Victims saw their credit cards charged repeatedly, at times for thousands of dollars, while often never receiving any merchandise for purchases that were largely unauthorized to begin with. -Sun Sentinel Enjoying a well-to-do life in Florida, Daniel Porush and his wife drive matching Rolls-Royce Corniche convertibles. With regard to The Wolf of Wall Street movie, Porush said, "I really have no comment other than to say I would never try to profit from a crime I'm so remorseful for." -NYPost.com

I heard that Jordan Belfort is a motivational speaker, is that true?

How much did Jordan Belfort earn from his books and the movie?

Catching the Wolf of Wall Street includes more of Belfort's outrageous stories that were not included in his first book. As we investigated The Wolf of Wall Street true story, we discovered that Jordan's books, The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street , netted him a $1 million advance from Random House. He also earned $1 million for the film rights to his story ( TheDailyBeast.com ). In a response to criticism over these profits and future profits from the movie, Jordan Belfort said the following via his Facebook page, "I am not turning over 50% of the profits of the books and the movie, which was what the government had wanted me to do. Instead, I insisted on turning over 100% of the profits of both books and the movie, which is to say, I am not making a single dime on any of this." According to Jordan, the money is being used to pay back the millions still owed to those who were scammed by his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont.

Does Jordan Belfort have a cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street movie?

Yes, the real Jordan Belfort appears at the end of the movie as the person who introduces Leonardo DiCaprio's character before he takes the stage at his Straight Line seminar.

Have any other movies been based on Jordan Belfort's story?

Yes, but only loosely. The brokerage firm in the movie Boiler Room , released in 2000, was inspired by the illegal practices of Jordan Belfort's Stratton Oakmont firm. In the movie, actor Ben Affleck portrays Jim Young, the Belfort-esque co-founder of the firm, who, like Jordan Belfort, trains his brokers in the "pump and dump" scheme. -NYTimes.com

Watch The Wolf of Wall Street movie trailer. Also, view Jordan Belfort interviews and home video footage of him speaking at a Stratton Oakmont party in the 1990s.

• Jordan Belfort's Website
• Danny Porush's Website (played by Jonah Hill)
• Mark Hanna's Website (played by Matthew McConaughey)
• The Wolf of Wall Street Official Paramount Movie Site

Everything The Wolf Of Wall Street Doesn't Tell You About The True Story

Martin Scorsese's film "The Wolf of Wall Street" is an over-the-top celebration of greed and excess, inspired by the memoir of the notorious stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film. It tell of the rise of Jordan Belfort from a low-level assistant at L. F. Rothschild to a Long Island penny stock pusher, as well as Belfort's dramatic fall from filthy rich CEO of Stratton Oakmont to a stint in federal prison for stock fraud and money laundering.

Despite being ostensibly based on a true story, many question the veracity of the film because of how absolutely outlandishness of Belfort's claims, and how outrageous the antics at Stratton Oakmont are. Scorsese obviously recognized Belfort is an unreliable narrator with a penchant for exaggeration. In the film, Belfort breaks the fourth wall, addressing the camera and the audience directly. This was a strategic choice by the screenwriter and director. Screenwriter Terence Winter told Esquire , "Jordan is talking directly to you. You are being sold the Jordan Belfort story by Jordan Belfort, and he is a very unreliable narrator. That's very much by design."

Despite how unlikely this story is, most of what transpires in the film actually happened. Winter added, "I assumed he must've been embellishing. But then I did some research, and I talked to the FBI agent who arrested him, who had been tracking Jordan for ten years. And he told me, 'It's all true. Every single thing in his memoir, every insane coincidence and over-the-top perk, it all happened.'" 

That said, this film is Belfort's truth, not necessarily the definitive truth. Keep reading if you want to learn everything "The Wolf of Wall Street" doesn't tell you about the true story of Jordan Belfort's meteoric rise and fall.

Belfort's wives' names were changed for the film

Although their real-life counterparts are obvious, the names of Jordan Belfort's ex-wives were changed in the film, giving the filmmaker creative license with the characters. Belfort's first-wife in the film is Teresa Petrillo (Cristin Milioti), but her real-life counterpart is Denise Lombardo. Denise met Belfort in high school, and the childhood sweethearts married in 1985 after Denise graduated from college. Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont while married to Denise, and they divorced after she found out about his affair in 1991 (per The U.S. Sun ). After their divorce, Denise led a low-profile life, staying out of the public eye.

Belfort's second-wife in the film is Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie). Naomi's real-life counterpart is Nadine Macaluso. Like Naomi, Nadine was a model and met Belfort at a party before they married in 1991. Nadine and Belfort had two children together and separated in 1998 as depicted in the film (per the U.S. Sun). Nadine got a Ph.D, becoming a marriage and family therapist. She lives in California with her second husband (per Daily Mail TV ).

Margot Robbie , who played Naomi in the film, met Nadine while preparing for her role. Robbie told IndieWire meeting Nadine helped her understand her character's motivations, saying, "I could do or say any horrible thing and know that my character's motivation was out of protection for her child. Whether or not the audience sees my side of events is another matter, but just to know my motivation can give me an authentic performance." She added how strong Nadine is, saying, "She's has to be, to have put up with Jordan and his shenanigans."

The original crew Belfort recruited from friends are composite characters

Although Belfort recruited the original crew for his Long Island brokerage firm from a group of friends; Alden "Sea Otter" Kupferberg (Henry Zebrowski), Robbie "Pinhead" Feinberg (Brian Sacca), Chester Ming (Kenneth Choi), and Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff (PJ Byrne) are composite characters with fictitious names. These characters are an amalgamation of numerous people who worked at Stratton Oakmont and do not represent actual people.

This didn't stop Andrew Greene, a board member of Stratton Oakmont, from filing a defamation suit against the film's production company. He was offended by the depiction of "Rugrat" in the film, saying the character damaged his reputation. He called the character a "criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved and devoid of any morals or ethics" (per The Guardian ).

In 2018, Greene lost his suit . In 2020, an appellate court threw the suit out, stating that the filmmakers, by creating composite characters and fictitious names, "took appropriate steps to ensure that no one would be defamed by the Film," (per the Hollywood Reporter ). The filmmaker included the hijinks of the employees at Stratton Oakmont in the film to illustrate the raucous corporate culture of the brokerage firm, rather than defame former employees.

Donnie Azoff doesn't exist, his real-life counterpart is Danny Porush

Jonah Hill 's character Donnie Azoff in "The Wolf of Wall Street" doesn't exist. He is a composite character created to avoid defaming anyone while making the film. To anyone who is familiar with Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont's story, it's obvious Danny Porush is Azoff's real-life counterpart. Porush disputes the veracity of both Belfort's memoir and the film, telling Mother Jones , "The book ... is a distant relative of the truth, and the film is a distant relative of the book." Porush admits to swallowing the goldfish, but under different circumstances than depicted in the film.

As reported by Mother Jones, Porush was Belfort's friend and business partner between 1988 and 1996. Like Belfort, he cooperated with authorities, ultimately serving 39 months in prison for his securities and financial crimes at Stratton Oakmont. Porush disputes the throwing of dwarves, insists there were never animals in Stratton Oakmont — other than the goldfish he ate — but admits to the wild parties and taking part in the depravity and excesses encouraged at the brokerage firm, saying "Stratton was like a fraternity."

Porush told Mother Jones, "My main complaint [regarding the memoir] besides his inaccuracy was his using my real name," something that was remedied when the filmmakers created the composite character of Donnie Azoff. Ultimately, Porush doesn't seem to hold a grudge despite his grievances with the inaccuracies saying, "Hey, it's Hollywood ... I know they want to make a movie that sells. And Jordan wrote whatever he could to make the book sell."

Danny Porush's wife introduced Jordan Belfort to her husband

In "The Wolf of Wall Street," Donnie Azoff (Danny Porush's fictional counterpart) approaches Belfort at a restaurant about what he does for a living, after seeing Belfort's Jaguar in the parking lot. In reality, Belfort met his future business partner, Danny Porush, through Danny's wife Nancy.

Porush and Nancy lived in the same building in Queens where Belfort lived with his first wife Denise, as Nancy told Doree Lewak with The New York Post in 2013 shortly before "The Wolf of Wall Street" came out. Nancy explained how she took the same bus into the city for work as Belfort, saying, "the commute to the city each day was hard because I became pregnant right away. There was a nice boy from our building on the same bus who always gave up his seat for me. His name was Jordan Belfort, and he worked in finance ... I pushed Danny to talk to Jordan ... After just one conversation, Danny came back and announced he was taking the Series 7 exam to get his stockbroker's license."

In the New York Post article, Nancy detailed how her husband changed once he began working with Belfort and making serious cash, saying, "Up until then, Danny never seemed to care about money ... I saw him morph from a nice wholesome guy into showy narcissist whom I hardly recognized anymore." After being arrested for securities fraud, Porush left Nancy for another woman. They are now divorced, and he lives in Florida with his second wife. We can't help wondering if Nancy ever regrets introducing her ex-husband to Belfort.

Belfort's destroyed yacht once belonged to Coco Chanel

Jordan Belfort bought a yacht and named it after his second wife. In the film, the boat is named Naomi after the character played by Margot Robbie, but in real life the boat was called the Nadine . True to the film, Belfort insisted his boat's captain take the yacht into choppy waters, where the boat happened upon powerful but unpredictable mistrals, leading to the Nadine sinking into the Mediterranean Sea in an event known as Mayday In The Med . Belfort, his guests and crew, were rescued by the Italian coast guard.

What the film doesn't tell you is that Belfort's yacht had an interesting past. Belfort's vintage yacht once belonged to none other than the famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel. Chanel is known for her outspoken nature and is associated with quite a few fiercely female quotes. Chanel is quoted as saying , "As soon as you set foot on a yacht, you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom." Rather than avoid luxury yachts all together, Chanel made the boss move of buying her own in 1961, naming her the Matilda (per Boss Hunting ).

As bizarre as this interlude of the film was, it actually happened, with one major difference. In an interview with The Room Live , Belfort explained how the group waiting to be rescued had to push the helicopter off of the boat to make room for a rescue team to lower down onto the yacht. In the film, the waves knock the helicopter off of the yacht. Belfort also explains that although his private jet also crashed, it was 10 days after the yacht sunk, not at the same time, as it was depicted in the film for dramatic effect.

Steve Madden spent time in prison for stock fraud

Although they don't talk about it in the movie, Steve Madden also went to prison for stock fraud and money laundering along with Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush. The New York Times reported in 2002 that Madden "was arrested in 2000 as a result of an investigation of a scheme to manipulate 23 initial public stock offerings underwritten by the companies Stratton Oakmont and Monroe Parker Securities ... It included the initial public stock offering of his own company in 1993."

True to the film, Danny Porush, Azoff's real-life counterpart, really was childhood friends with Steve Madden. Like Belfort and Porush, Madden loved debauchery and Quaaludes, so much so he didn't finish college because of how much he was partying. Although Madden wrote about his wild days in his memoir, his time partying with the Stratton Oakmont "fraternity" was not included in the film. Stratton Oakmont took Madden's company public, making him instantly rich ( per The New York Post ).

As reported by the New York Post, Madden wrote about this period of his life in his memoir "The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell from Grace & Came Back Stronger Than Ever." In his book, Madden wrote, "Jordan was like no one else I have ever met before or since. He became one of the most influential people in my life ... I was pumping and dumping [stocks] right alongside them." Madden wound up serving 31 months for his financial crimes and his involvement with Stratton Oakmont's schemes. Unlike Porush and Belfort, Madden could continue working at his company after being released from prison.

Belfort was ordered to pay restitution to his victims

When Belfort was convicted of money laundering and stock fraud in 2003 for Stratton Oakmont's "pump and dump" schemes, he was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay over $110.4 million in restitution (per Crime Museum ). Belfort only served 22 months for his crimes and a judge ordered him to pay half of his income once he was released from prison.

In 2013, just after the film was released, CNN reported Belfort had only contributed a little over $11 million to the fund for victims, much obtained from confiscated possessions. At the time the film came out, Belfort allegedly stated he would hand over all of his royalties from the film and the book. But in 2018, Fortune Magazine reported government officials claimed Belfort still owed $97 million, meaning that over the previous 5 years, Belfort only contributed an additional $2 million dollars to the victims' fund. $2 million dollars is more than most of us will ever see, but Belfort is still making good money as a motivational speaker.

As reported by Fortune Magazine, there is a disagreement between Belfort's attorneys and prosecutors over what income can be garnished for restitution. Belfort reportedly earned around $9 million dollars between 2013 and 2015, but neglected to pay half of those earnings to the victims' fund. Although Belfort claims he will feel better after he has paid the money back, he doesn't seem to be fulfilling his end of the court order. Belfort obviously still enjoys a life of luxury and it is hard to reconcile his claims of being reformed with his reluctance to pay the restitution to his victims. In her New York Post article Nancy Porush reminded us, "Greed is not good — it's ugly."

Tommy Chong was Belfort's cellmate in prison

"The Wolf of Wall Street" ends with Jordan Belfort in a cushy white-collar prison with tennis courts, but the film didn't tell us who Belfort's cellmate was. Belfort and Tommy Chong of the comedy duo "Cheech & Chong" were cellmates before Chong was released. In 2014, Belfort spoke to Stephen Galloway with The Hollywood Reporter about his time in prison. He explained, "[Chong] was in the process of writing his book. We used to tell each other stories at night, and I had him rolling hysterically on the floor. The third night he goes, 'You've got to write a book.' So I started writing, and I knew it was bad. It was terrible. I was about to call it quits and then I went into the prison library and stumbled upon 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' by Tom Wolfe, and I was like, 'That's how I want to write!'"

In 2014 Chong spoke with Adrian Lee at Maclean's about how he met Belfort in prison and giving Belfort feed back on his pages, saying "After a while he showed me what he had written, and it was the only time I had critiqued someone really heavy — usually when someone writes something, you say, 'Oh yeah, that's great, keep going.' But I knew instinctively he had a lot more to offer than what he showed me ... I told him ... 'No, you've got to write those stories you've been telling me at night. Your real life is much more exciting than any kind of imaginary story you could come up with.'"

Stratton Oakmont was never on Wall Street

Although the memoir and film are titled "The Wolf of Wall Street," Jordan Belfort only worked on Wall Street for several months in 1987 at L. F. Rothschild. Black Monday put an end to his days at a Manhattan based brokerage firm. As we see in the film, it was on Long Island that Belfort got a job at the Investor's Center selling penny stocks from the pink sheets and found his calling: his get-rich-quick scheme, selling nearly worthless stocks for a 50 percent commission to people who couldn't afford to lose the money (per NY Times ).

Belfort soon went out on his own, founding Stratton Oakmont with Danny Porush, where they began targeting rich investors using a persuasive script and "pump and dump" tactics — making Belfort, Porush and their brokers rich, while leaving their clients broke. As reported by the Washington Post in 1996, Stratton Oakmont was disciplined for securities violations as early as 1989, and continued to be disciplined almost annually.

Jimmy So with The Daily Beast, maintains, "The problem with 'The Wolf of Wall Street' is that the self-fashioned wolf was nowhere near the real Wall Street." The memoir and film made the brokerage firm seem like a much bigger deal than they really were, despite the financial ruin they left in their wake. Stratton Oakmont's offices were on Long Island, not Wall Street.

Jordan Belfort was never called 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Scorsese's film makes it seem like Forbes gave Jordan Belfort the nickname, "The Wolf of Wall Street" when they published a takedown about Stratton Oakmont's questionable business practices. Forbes wrote an article about Stratton Oakmont's dirty deeds in 1991, but the article did not call Belfort "the wolf of wall street." In 2013, Forbes revisited Roula Khalaf's original article, where she called Belfort a "twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers." 

Danny Porush, Belfort's former partner and one-time friend, told Mother Jones  that nobody at the firm ever used the "wolf" moniker. As reported by CNN , Belfort came up with the nickname himself for his memoir. As Porush told Mother Jones, Belfort's "greatest gift was always that of a self-promoter." But as Joe Nocera with the NY Times said, "who would ever buy a ticket to a movie called 'The Wolf of Long Island'?"

Belfort had a head-on collision while driving under the influence of Quaaludes

When the real Jordan Belfort crashed his car while on Quaaludes, he was in a Mercedes Benz rather than a Lamborghini, and someone was actually injured. Belfort had a head-on collision while driving home from the country club where he used the pay phone, sending the woman he collided with to the hospital (per The Daily Beast ). None of Belfort's crimes are victimless.

This type of discrepancy is central to the complaints about both Belfort's memoir and the film. Although Belfort says he regrets his crimes, he is too busy boasting about the parties, the riches, the drugs, and the sex to sound like he regrets anything except getting caught. Belfort's memoir and the film it inspired might seem like a celebration of greed and excess, but they are also a depiction of the ostentatious behavior that eventually drew the attention of the authorities.

Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" might not tell you everything about the true story, but what it does is reveal how audiences love watching someone else's destructive behavior. We get all the thrills and none of the consequences. As screenwriter Terence Winter told Esquire, "I'd much rather watch somebody who isn't responsible, who makes all the wrong decisions and hangs out with the wrong people. That's more satisfying. We may live like saints, but when it comes to our fantasy life, everybody's got a little larceny in their soul."

Please use a modern browser to view this website. Some elements might not work as expected when using Internet Explorer.

• Landing Page
• Luxury Yacht Vacation Types
• Corporate Yacht Charter
• Tailor Made Vacations
• Luxury Exploration Vacations
• View All 3568
• Motor Yachts
• Sailing Yachts
• Classic Yachts
• Catamaran Yachts
• Filter By Destination
• More Filters
• Latest Reviews
• Charter Special Offers
• Destination Guides
• Inspiration & Features
• Mediterranean Charter Yachts
• France Charter Yachts
• Italy Charter Yachts
• Croatia Charter Yachts
• Greece Charter Yachts
• Turkey Charter Yachts
• Bahamas Charter Yachts
• Caribbean Charter Yachts
• Australia Charter Yachts
• Thailand Charter Yachts
• Dubai Charter Yachts
• Destination News
• New To Fleet
• Charter Fleet Updates
• Special Offers
• Industry News
• Yacht Shows
• Corporate Charter
• Finding a Yacht Broker
• Charter Preferences
• Questions & Answers
• Add my yacht

• Yacht Charter Fleet

Charter Yacht 'LADY M' featured in new ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Film

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on X
• Share via Email

By Editorial Team   6 January 2014

The 45m/147’ charter yacht 'LADY M' is the setting for a number of scenes shot with Leonardo DiCaprio for his new Martin Scorcese-directed film ‘Wolf of Wall Street’.

Scenes on board motor yacht LADY M were filmed in North Cove Marina, New York for the highly-anticipated movie due out in cinemas later this month. ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ is based on the rise and fall of high-flying, fast-living real life stock broker Jordan Belfort, played by DiCaprio as he raked in more than $50 million a year on the stock market.

Belfort set up boiler room Stratton Oakmont in the 1990’s and enjoyed an outrageously excessive lifestyle of drugs, women, planes and of course superyachts before being imprisoned for 22 months corruption and fraud.  LADY M is used in the film to represent Belfort’s own superyacht ‘NADINE’, named after his second wife, which was a 41m luxury motor yacht originally built for Coco Chanel in 1961.

‘NADINE’ sank in July 1997 following an instruction from Belfort while he was high on drugs to the Captain to head into a storm on a cruise from Porto Cervo to Capri. The yacht was battered by 15m waves and sank along with a number of toys including a seaplane, helicopter and eight jet skis however all passengers were successfully rescued by the Italian Coast Guard.

Built in 2002 by Intermarine Savannah , LADY M made for a luxurious setting for the film with her classically elegant interior that offers accommodation for up to 10 guests in five staterooms comprising a master suite, VIP, two doubles and one twin cabin. She is offered for charter at weekly rates starting from $125,000, contact your yacht broker for more details. 

'Wolf of Wall Street’ yacht scenes were filmed on board LADY M in North Cove Marina, New York for the highly-anticipated movie due out in cinemas later this month.

More Yacht Information

45m Intermarine - USA 2002 / 2016

• READ MORE ABOUT:
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Celebrity Yachts
• Yachts in Movies

RELATED STORIES

Previous Post

10% Discount on LALIBELA

TOP FIVE Available in Florida, the Bahamas & New England

EDITOR'S PICK

Latest News

19 March 2024

18 March 2024

15 March 2024

• See All News

Yacht Reviews

• See All Reviews

Charter Yacht of the week

Join our newsletter

Useful yacht charter news, latest yachts and expert advice, sent out every fortnight.

Please enter a valid e-mail

Thanks for subscribing

Featured Luxury Yachts for Charter

This is a small selection of the global luxury yacht charter fleet, with 3568 motor yachts, sail yachts, explorer yachts and catamarans to choose from including superyachts and megayachts, the world is your oyster. Why search for your ideal yacht charter vacation anywhere else?

446ft | Lurssen

from $4,356,000 p/week ♦︎

378ft | Lurssen

from $2,831,000 p/week ♦︎

279ft | Golden Yachts

from $980,000 p/week ♦︎

289ft | Golden Yachts

from $1,198,000 p/week ♦︎

274ft | Feadship

from $1,089,000 p/week ♦︎

305ft | Feadship

from $1,525,000 p/week ♦︎

Maltese Falcon

289ft | Perini Navi

from $490,000 p/week

400ft | Lurssen

from $3,000,000 p/week

As Featured In

The YachtCharterFleet Difference

YachtCharterFleet makes it easy to find the yacht charter vacation that is right for you. We combine thousands of yacht listings with local destination information, sample itineraries and experiences to deliver the world's most comprehensive yacht charter website.

San Francisco

• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Follow us on Instagram
• Find us on LinkedIn
• Add My Yacht
• Affiliates & Partners

Popular Destinations & Events

• St Tropez Yacht Charter
• Monaco Yacht Charter
• St Barts Yacht Charter
• Greece Yacht Charter
• Mykonos Yacht Charter
• Caribbean Yacht Charter

Featured Charter Yachts

• Maltese Falcon Yacht Charter
• Wheels Yacht Charter
• Victorious Yacht Charter
• Andrea Yacht Charter
• Titania Yacht Charter
• Ahpo Yacht Charter

Receive our latest offers, trends and stories direct to your inbox.

Please enter a valid e-mail.

Thanks for subscribing.

Search for Yachts, Destinations, Events, News... everything related to Luxury Yachts for Charter.

Yachts in your shortlist

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Martin Scorsese ‘Kept Fighting’ for ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Yacht Scene to Be in Final Cut

Samantha bergeson.

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Share on LinkedIn
• Show more sharing options
• Submit to Reddit
• Post to Tumblr
• Print This Page
• Share on WhatsApp

Martin Scorsese was determined that “ The Wolf of Wall Street ” would have a sinking ship onscreen.

The blockbuster, Oscar-nominated 2013 film which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life disgraced stockbroker Jordan Belfort, was originally a whopping four hours long. While the film was eventually trimmed down to 180 minutes, screenwriter Terence Winter revealed that Scorsese refused to cut an expensive yacht sequence.

“Because [the script] was so long, you know, the fear was there were going be things that we were gonna have to cut — like the sequence where the boat sinks and they get rescued at sea,” Winter told The Hollywood Reporter . “It was on the chopping block for the longest time because it was so wild and so expensive. To his credit, Marty just kept fighting and said, ‘We have to have that. I have to have that.'”

The scene involves Belfort (DiCaprio) and his wife Naomi ( Margot Robbie ) having to be rescued by helicopter when sailing from Italy to Monaco in a desperate attempt to stop federal investigators from accessing bank accounts.

Related Stories Paul Thomas Anderson’s Next Movie to Open August 2025 in IMAX ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Martin Scorsese’s Third Film to Go 0-10 at the Oscars

“There was actually a four-hour cut of that movie initially and it was just a lot more insanity — if you can believe there was room for any,” Emmy winner Winter continued. “But I was absolutely thrilled that everything got in there. Every possible thing… including the kitchen sink… is in that movie. I could not have been more happy with it.”

Acclaimed editor and longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker previously told IndieWire that the four-hour cut is beloved by those who had seen it, and Scorsese even considered releasing it in two parts. “Well, we thought about it,” Schoonmaker said. “But the film doesn’t work split in half. It has to have a certain arc.”

Actress Robbie recently revealed that the overnight success of “The Wolf of Wall Street” was overwhelming at times, saying, “Something was happening in those early stages and it was all pretty awful. I remember saying to my mom, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ And she just looked at me, completely straight-faced, and was like, ‘Darling, I think it’s too late not to.’ That’s when I realized the only way was forward.”

Most Popular

You may also like.

Wolf Street

Brick-and-mortar meltdown fells another retailer: joann inc. files for bankruptcy 3 years after ipo, by wolf richter •  mar 18, 2024  •  70 comments, the ipo allowed the pe firm that had acquired joann via an lbo in 2010 to dump the shares into the lap of the public in march 2021., by  wolf richter  for  wolf street ..

It all came together in one fabulous package, in the bankruptcy filing today by Joann Inc., an old-line fabric and crafts retailer with about 850 stores in the US.

It’s the stuff we’ve called Brick-and-Mortar Meltdown since 2017, during which hundreds of major retailers, from the biggest ones on down, filed for bankruptcy and most were liquidated. Plus, cherry on top of the cake, it’s the stuff we’ve seen since 2021 in our pantheon of Imploded Stocks .

Joann Inc. brings it all together:

• A PE firm (Leonard Green & Partners) that had acquired an established retailer in a $1.6 billion leveraged buyout (LBO) 13 years ago and left the retailer suffocating under the pile of debt that had funded its own buyout;
• The switch by Americans to ecommerce that then pressured revenues at its brick-and-mortar stores;
• An exit for the PE firm via an IPO at peak hype-and-hoopla in March 2021 that dumped those shares into the lap of the gullible public;
• Followed inevitably by the collapse of the shares that wiped out these shareholders;
• And today, three years after the IPO, the bankruptcy filing that begins the process of transferring ownership of the company from the current shareholders to others, with shareholders getting nothing.

Joann Inc. announced today, after weeks of rumors, that it filed for a “prepackaged” Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that all outstanding shares will be canceled and that holders of the common stock will lose everything – they’ve already lost nearly everything – and that certain creditors, PE firms, and board members will get the restructured company.

People are still trading these worthless shares today at around 18 cents. Down the road, the end users of those shares, when they get tired of looking at that unsellable line item in their brokerage account, will have to ask their broker to remove those cancelled shares.

The company said today in an SEC filing that it had entered into a Transaction Support Agreement on March 15 with the holders of its senior secured term loan facility; and with the PE firms Green Equity Investors CF, L.P., Green Equity Investors Side CF, L.P., and LGP Associates CF, LLC; and with “certain current or former members of the Company’ board of directors”; and with “certain third-party financing parties that executed joinders thereto.”

It said its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing today would provide “for a court-administered reorganization pursuant to a prepackaged joint plan of reorganization.”

The trigger for the bankruptcy filing was the company’s default on two loans totaling $1.06 billion, plus unpaid interest.

The transactions of the reorganization plan would result in:

• All issued and outstanding shares “being canceled and extinguished without consideration.”
• The company becoming a private company that will no longer report to the SEC.
• Its long-term debt being reduced by $505 million.

It said its stores would remain open during the reorganization, and that employees, vendors, landlords, and other trade creditors would get paid in full “in the ordinary course of business.”

Retention bonuses for executives . Three executives would be paid retention bonuses in about September 2024, which the board agreed to on March 15:

• $535,740 to Christopher DiTullio (Executive VP, Chief Customer Officer, member of the Interim Office of the CEO)
• $371,250 to Robert Will (Executive VP, Chief Merchandising Officer)
• $135,740 to Scott Sekella (Executive VP, CFO, and member of the Interim Office of the CEO.

The DIP loan . To fund the company during the bankruptcy proceedings, it has obtained a debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan of up to $142 million. The DIP facility will be secured by a super-priority lien on substantially all of the company’s assets.

All holders of its senior secured term loan “have been (or will be) offered the opportunity to participate and fund their pro rata share of the DIP Facility.” The DIP loans will accrue interest at SOFR (currently 5.3%) plus 9.5% per annum. So roughly 14.8%.

The DIP facility consists of $107 million in “new money term loans”; $25 million of outstanding trade payables exchanged into term loans; and up to $10 million via an uncommitted “accordion facility,” allowing the company to add term loans.

The brick-and-mortar meltdown . It has been tough for years being a brick-and-mortar retailer. Joann sells the type of merchandise – yarns, fabrics, crafts, art supplies, sewing machines, etc. – that anyone can find on the internet anywhere, not only on Joann’s own site, but at countless vendors, including cheap stuff directly from Asia listed on third-party platforms such as Amazon and now Temu. Online, the selection is endless, prices are easy to compare, and it arrives directly at the buyer’s home.

Ecommerce is a structural change in how Americans are shopping for this kind of stuff. Americans are still buying gasoline, food, and new vehicles at brick-and-mortar stores, which is over half of total retail sales, but the other stuff has been wandering off to ecommerce.

Walmart figured it out years ago and became the second largest ecommerce seller in the US, after Amazon, and the largest grocery seller . But most of the rest of its stuff at its brick-and-mortar stores is in slow-motion decline.

Ecommerce will continue to wipe out brick-and-mortar retail chains and retail properties, and thereby will continue to wreak havoc in commercial real estate as it has done for years.

Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer and iced-tea mug to find out how:

Would you like to be notified via email when WOLF STREET publishes a new article? Sign up here .

  70 comments for “ Brick-and-Mortar Meltdown Fells another Retailer: Joann Inc. Files for Bankruptcy 3 Years after IPO ”

The debt that was piled up in the process of buying out the company was a accounting trick that came back to haunt them.

Investors who are like Carl Icahn, and are “market activists,” provide a service to society in shaking up moribund corporations. But the vultures of private equity, focused on fleecing corporations of their assets and saddling them with debt, are exploiting lax laws and a permissive climate.

In the end, it might be good to bring back shame as a motivating (or de-motivating, as the case may be) factor stopping investors from looting helpless, defenseless companies.

PE firms have these plans in place all the time high debt hope things get to point for ipo why not during the free money era maybe one of their last free money eras i sure hope so. Having worked for a PE portfolio company I too have a bad taste for the group as a whole . But I don’t know that they do anything illegal. Just unscrupulous .

“The debt that was piled up in the process of buying out the company was a accounting trick that came back to haunt them.”

I think the increase of leveraged buyouts in recent years was a side effect of ultra-low interest rates. The cost of borrowing was very low, allowing large sums to be raised at minimum cost.

I suspect the deal itself results in large profits for the LBO organizers. If the company does well, it’s icing on the cake. If not, it served its purpose.

I totally agree with your comment. No way people and companies would have levered up without ridiculously low interest rates. And of course all this leverage just pushed prices up into the stratosphere, rewarding the first ones in line and penalizing those who came after.

“I suspect the deal itself results in large profits for the LBO organizers. If the company does well, it’s icing on the cake. If not, it served its purpose.”

Yes, either way it’s a win/win for them.

Don’t forget the insider management (having the best financial info) who sold out the company (incumbent management usually gets an equity stake in LBOs) and the “free” ZIRP money (printed by the G, expropriating savers) that provided the indispensable rocket fuel for LBOs.

There are plenty of villains to go around.

Private equity firms are cancer.

Yup I like it better when they honestly called themselves LBO firms the whole rebranding to Private Equity was a farce to make them sound like they are doing the market a favor.

Yep, they pay themselves handsomly as they divest all the equity in the business. Ever watch “Shark Tank”, they offshore any production and ramp up the marketing, and if it sours they bail. Interesting to know how many ventures they have taken the money and run..

Very true. And guess who is likely giving them the DIP financing to keep operating after pledging all their assets that have any value… another private equity group.

This is what they do – take sick companies private or buy them out if they’re already private, load them up with massive debt to make huge payouts to themselves and their investors. Huge as in 5x, 7x 10x their investments. Then they turn around and sell these zombie companies thru IPO’s to idiot retail investors.

The companies naturally go broke in a few years, retail investors lose their shirts, and a new private equity group comes in and does it all over again.

Welcome to Wall Street and Private Equity. This game pays for their expensive new houses down here in Florida, along with the yachts parked behind them and the jets they fly down in.

I just don’t understand why retail investors and pension fund managers keep buying this crap?

Friends with the PE guys or just plain dumb? Am I missing something?

All of them have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders. The real problem is that nobody goes to prison for fraud anymore.

But the question is why don’t retail buyers of the crippled IPOs wise up after a few rounds/decades of crapola LBOs?

In other words…who buys this sh*t and why?

Best guess, like with other gross malinvestments of the last 20 years, automatic investment programs – while providing useful baked-in diversification – have also baked-in witless uptake of any piece of crapola that somehow manages to be hauled across the finish line of an IPO.

Indexing is very useful, but I suspect that it is deep in its witlessness stage.

Besides PE, don’t forget the foolhardy but fashionable high-risk bets being placed in the arena of private debt.

Take a look, for example, at non-marketable holdings (both equity and debt) in portfolios at the nations largest university endowments.

A possible parallel from a century ago: “A severe depression like that of 1920-21 is outside the range of probability. We are not factoring protracted liquidation.” — John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash, [quoting a Harvard Economic Society official in reference to Harvard’s portfolio investments up until the post-1929 liquidations at huge losses.]

The entire cabal running the US, from the corporations to the politicians and bureaucrats, is a giant cancer upon society. The US is finished as we ever knew it.

No worse than it was a hundred years ago. The collapse of the stock market was the result of massive financial chicanery and the government looking the other way.

You can avoid most of these investment blow ups if you stick to companies paying long term dividends. But make sure the dividend is covered by earnings. Some play games like borrowing money to pay the dividend. Wall Street puts games like that in their heads.

Paying dividends is like Paying someone to be your friend. It artificially raises the stock price and encourages stock buy backs. Putting the money back into the company for real growth and development is probably better at keeping the boat floating wouldn’t you think?

Also love how the Clown committee gets paid and the so called “owners” get nothing.

In many cases there is a limit to how much you can usefully “put back into the company”, isn’t there? Take an old school company like Coca Cola for example. Not a lot of R&D going on there.

Why would you want to invest in a company if it doesn’t pay dividends?

JoAnn today, Reddit tomorrow. I suspect corrupt pension managers bought the biggest bulk of the garbage. Investors with minimal due diligence won’t touch the stock with 10 feet pole.

Yet another business was killed by a private equity firm, just like Sears and Toys R Us. There should be regulations preventing this.

After Sears went into PE, I went into one of their supposedly revitalized stores. It was the worst retail location of any kind I have ever seen. It was obviously not survivable, bereft of staff (competent or not), and only had overpriced items not appropriate for our region. I walked out and never went back. Somebody was just mining that trademark into the ground. That said, assuming PE is very greedy, I do not have excessive sympathy for the greedy retail investor bag-holders. In a free country we can’t protect people from themselves. A fool and his money are soon parted, no matter what we do.

I don’t think Sears ever went the PE route. IIRC, they spun off some of their real estate into a REIT around 2010 (Seritage) and then Eddie Lampert did a good job of killing the company himself without needing to go to Private Equity.

Sears stock was trading right up until a bankruptcy judge cancelled it.

However, there is a remnant of the old Sears called TransformCo. There are maybe 3 Sears stores left in the US, I think. They still have an e-commerce site branded as Sears.

Some tidbits on Joann 2021 IPO – ENJOY: Forbes: Stitch Pitch: Fabric And Crafts Retailer JOANN Files For IPO Feb 16, 2021 — The home crafting market is large—over $40 billion—and growing. JOANN is the category leader in sewing, with approximately one-third market … Surprise, went below the expected price in 2021: Joann, Inc. (JOAN) raised $131.28 million in its initial public offering (IPO) on March 11, 2021, when it priced 10.94 million shares at $12 each. This was below the range of $15–$17, and the number of shares was the same as in the prospectus Sounds like Trump valuation of his wealth: JOANN Inc. (JOAN) Statistics & Valuation Metrics – Stock Analysis The enterprise value is $2.00 billion. Again Forbes: Retail: Joann files for IPO as COVID pandemic lifts sales Fortune — WHOSE FORTUNE! fortune.com › joann-fabric-ipo-covid-sales-surge Feb 16, 2021 — 31, Joann (previously known as Jo-Ann Stores) reported that its sales rose 24.3% to $1.921 billion, while the retailer returned to profit with … sOMEONE CAN SAY, I told you: Joann IPO: Will Investors Be Stuck Holding The Bag? investing.com › analysis › joann-ipo-will-i… Feb 23, 2021 — The company is heavily indebted, with over $921 million in long-term debt as of October 31, 2020. There is the threat of competition from …

I wonder if the PE firm issued some debt to pay themselves dividends before the IPO? Another good trick

“Joann sells the type of merchandise – yarns, fabrics, crafts, art supplies, sewing machines, etc. – that anyone can find on the internet anywhere, not only on Joann’s own site, but at countless vendors, including cheap stuff directly from Asia listed on third-party platforms such as Amazon and now Temu. Online, the selection is endless, prices are easy to compare, and it arrives directly at the buyer’s home.”

This is a BS narrative. JoAnn is just poorly run and overleveraged. I don’t see Hobby Lobby struggling.

“I don’t see Hobby Lobby struggling.”

Hobby Lobby is a private company and doesn’t disclose results. So you don’t “see” the results, and you don’t “see” what it’s struggling with.

Also it may not have a lot of long-term debt (it doesn’t have any publicly traded debt), and so it can afford to do pretty much whatever it wants. A company without debt can shut down, but doesn’t file for bankruptcy. All retailer bankruptcy filings entail debt that the cashflow from operations can no longer support. But if a big company doesn’t have debt, it has very long runway.

There are two parts to the Brick-and-Mortar Meltdown, as you can see in this article: debt and ecommerce.

Invariably, I have had people make these kinds of comments since 2017 about specific retailers, such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys R Us, etc., to show that the Brick-and-Mortar Meltdown is a “BS narrative,” and a few years later, the retailers collapsed, LOL. It never fails.

I can buy the same stuff in store for 20% less in Amazon and 90% less in Ali express. For some reason, I don’t need fancy case most of the type.

Not just physical stores are disappearing. Amazon will die if US government doesn’t quickly shutdown temu and alibaba.

So making Jeff Bezos even richer is the patriotic thing to do? To hell with him.

Hobby Lobby may be private, but Michaels was public up until 2021. They reported a 10% operating margin in 2020. Joanns reported -23.85% the same year.

My wife is a crafter and I am frequently dragged to these stores. The difference between Joanns and Michaels is night and day.

I agree with the general sentiment of the brick & mortar meltdown…

…but I have to say I too notice a big difference between Michaels & Joanns in terms of merchandising quality (as someone with a crafter wife who also gets dragged to these stores).

“Ecommerce is a structural change in how Americans are shopping for this kind of stuff. ”

You may want to add the move to home based services to the mix of a change in buyers habits. Ms Swamps hairdresser is working right through Ramadon at her home salon. The mall hair salon where she also works will be losing customers to the home based salons and will go out of business along with the mall where the salon is located. Why pay $300 for a treatment at the mall salon that can be done at her home salon for $85. The brick and mortar meltdown will be receiving a fatal blow.

In Washington DC you see people getting haircuts right in full view on their front porches.

I went to a home salon 30 years ago in my neighborhood. Her dog tried to hump my leg for half the session, and I had trouble shaking the little guy off. All she did was laugh. True Story. I’d still go to a home salon, but not one with a little dog present and I’m wearing soft corduroy pants.

There are quite a few home-based hair & nail salons in my neighborhood… there’s even a home-based karate studio down the street!

Wasn’t there also a theatre chain scam that was similar to this around the same time? I remember shaking my head thinking “don’t do it people. Don’t buy these shares” Apparently people did.

Urgh….once again this is feature of our system, not a bug…disgusting to say the least

Retention bonuses for executives. Three executives would be paid retention bonuses in about September 2024, which the board agreed to on March 15:

$535,740 to Christopher DiTullio (Executive VP, Chief Customer Officer, member of the Interim Office of the CEO) $371,250 to Robert Will (Executive VP, Chief Merchandising Officer) $135,740 to Scott Sekella (Executive VP, CFO, and member of the Interim Office of the CEO.

Let’s hope and pray Hobby Lobby makes a similar transition

@Redundant: Was the use of the word “pray” an intended pun? If yes, a very good one!

So they relabel their business plan to feature AI and the stock takes off.

My wife sews so I have accompanied her to JoAnns a few times. The biggest thing it had going for it was that the actual fabric for sewing is not super practical to buy online ( the other stuff in the store is). You go in to the store and look over the bolts of cloth, looking and feeling them to decide on the one you want. Verbal descriptions or even photos do not do much justice to fabric in real life. Then you take it to the counter and have them cut off the amount that you need. I think they several big problems. The crafty goods they sold with the best margins are being purchased online. People who seriously sew are in decline and the young ones that are picking up the craft are often located in arty urban areas and they go to cuts neighborhood stores with names like ” BOLT” to buy all natural fiber fabrics while JoAnn was mired in a kind 0f 1970’s sears catalog inventory. A big ( and profitable) part of their business used to be patterns. You browsed these in a huge set of books, then once you found the one you liked you got the big fat envelope from the row of huge cabinets with the pattern in it. The last time I was there ( 2 years ago) the pattern shopping process was still the same as when my mother dragged my along in the 1960’s. No switch to digital with videos of fashion shows, point and click on the look you wanted, and then customization to a client to then be printed out on a big printer. A huge opportunity missed I am sure.

“People who seriously sew are in decline”

Bingo, plus I’ve heard from sewing friends that it is much more expensive now to make your own clothes than to buy off the rack.

That depends, I suspect, on whether one wants a bespoke garment constructed from high quality fabric, or fast fashion sent over from Asia and ready to enter the waste stream after a few laundry cycles.

My wife sews/quilts and crochets.

Sewing/quilting takes up way too much space in the home. The only other sewer I know is her grandmother.

My wife, her friends, and our nieces are all in our 20s-30s. Almost none have a room they can dedicate to sewing. Instead, every single one of them crochets. You can crochet in your lap.

Joann’s sells yarn, but so does Michael’s. And Michael’s has a 1/4 of the fabric Joanns has and not nearly as much overhead.

Hubberts Curve,

My wife, too, is really into sewing. And she liked going to JoAnn to touch the fabrics in person. She rarely bought anything else. Some sewing needles or scissors that were on sale.

She used to get patterns there but she gets them, mostly, online.

Occasionally she’ll use the pattern software she installed on the PC but having helped her tape those together is a very large pain.

Excellent comment!

I agree. Not only do the customers want to feel the fabric they also often need more to finish the job on the weekend, not delivered next week or even 2 day prime. One more consideration is the average age of the shopper, maybe 50 yrs old and not comfortable with the internet. There may be some life left in this chain. That said they will suffer the continued decline in the bricks and mortar model on all the other items easily found online. At some point the online price will be close to the same found on stores shelves. I see this happening now with may products. I wonder if online retailers will somehow figure out how to do a brake job or alignment via the internet?

I agree. My mom used to sew and going to the fabric store was a ritual because you really cannot buy fabrics the way you can patterns online.

That said, this doesn’t really bother me too much. Some stores (and even industries) need to be run as private companies by committed activists rather than public ones my MBAs. I noticed that the three executives getting retention bonuses are all GUYS. Is that really what a company called “Joann’s Fabrics” needs in charge?

As a crafter, JoAnns had a great deal of fabric that was utilized for home decor to simple crafts. Really great prices with deals. It is near impossible to gather the feel of fabric (yarn, thread, cloth) from online. Serious sewers dropping large amounts of cash on fabric want to feel it first and verify the quality. I choose my textiles from quality brands I trust. If a new brand is introduced, I want to see where it is made and make sure the dye is the same. Seems like an opportunity for a niche Mom and Pop shop, because Walmart and Hobby Lobby carry very little in their stores and most of it is cheap bargains. With that said, most of my sewing friends went down to one project a year versus a week. Many of us entered back into the workforce due to inflation and don’t have time to make clothes and home fabrics. The down side, I know what I am buying (clothing and home goods) are less quality and cost more than my own brand. I just don’t have the time anymore. Are we sure we are not in a depression? This feels really depressing to my crafters heart! RIP DIY Stores!

Many are in a depression. Ask any of the unprecedented homeless you see. Inflation is just a word for wealth transfer. Wealth transfer is depressing for most. But we can live with the word inflation, so say the rich. Inflation will lead to only a few mega Corporations left, like Amazon..but as long as we say inflation and not wealth transfer, the rich shouldn’t face pitchforks. On the other hand, never say never..

There are several Mom and Pop fabric and sewing stores in my midwestern metro area. My wife and her grandma bought their machines there because they have significantly more product knowledge than Joanns.

Got to disagree – in my experience technical specificatons provide a close-to-perfect description of fabrics for those who have some previous experience. Measurements like Martindale index, fabric weight, material composition and various certificates already give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. Sure, when it comes to natural fibres the fineness and grain is more difficult to capture with a number – hence still all the rage about Egyptian cotton or Merino wool. Yet with a little research on internet forums it’s very difficult to purchase low-quality goods, especially since the younger generations are so addicted to being YouTube product reviewers.

IPO Banksters…

I hate the damn PE companies that are ruining our last places to shop. I know that I “can” buy Joann’s goods online but there is nothing like buying fabric in person. I need to get a feel for the “hand” of it. There is no way an online merchant’s description can tell me all the attributes I can assess in person. In addition, when you order online, you can’t return cut fabric so if it’s not what you were hoping for, tough luck. Joann is/was not a great fabric shop but it was the last one standing here (Hobby Lobby and Walmart are poor substitutes).

A relative bought fabric online and it brought bedbugs. I know, small sample size makes bad inference. Anyhow, cheers!

As Wolf points out repeatedly, these brick and mortar chains are due for either loss of market share or outright bankruptcy due to competition with e-commerce. Everyone in the comments today understandably feel rubbed the wrong way by PE companies. But they just sped up the bankruptcy for Joann’s; it was going to happen eventually.

Creative destructive forces of capitalism prevail. And I’ll echo another commenter regarding the IPO: “A fool and his money are easily parted.” Don’t hate the player, hate the game. If you hate the game, learn the rules or stop playing.

Very sad to see this happen again. So many others have disappeared through almost the same process and sequence of events. Mervyns GI Joes

There’s something to be said for engaging with certain goods before purchase. And certain articles of consumption need to be ascertained by more than just one of the five senses. Not sure whether that includes hot glue refills or bedazzling kits online, but fabric and thread — for sure. My guess is that brick-n-mortars become more of a boutique concern reserved for a certain type of buyer.

A luxury eCommerce site, Matches Fashion, filed for administration in the UK a few days ago. Luxury retail is hurting too because good paying jobs are disappearing everywhere.

I have to laugh reading the comments crying about LBOs and how they ruined America. I have news for you. This country has always been about looting and pillaging on behalf of the oligarchy.

Precisely! Thank you for (sadly) reminding us. Prime contemporary example: groundwater withdrawals in the U.S. Midwest and West. Water users draw draw draw like the FED prints prints prints…

I used to sew. Make my own clothes. In the 1990’s there still were quality fabric stores. Good stuff. Then the buy outs came. Now fabric is cheap , low quality , ugh. Why go to the trouble of making anything with that. Plus the patterns. Terrible. It’s as though they on purpose make sure the end product does not fit. I only buy European patterns. Classic cuts and they turn out great. Joann’s fabrics are sooo over priced for the low quality. I am not surprised this happened Plus the stores are filled with junkie crafty products. Most of the fabric is for “ quilters”. Low grade cotton / poly

A lot of old standard good quality products have gone to pot in this country due to cheap manufacturing and no quality materials (or quality control) in overseas manufacturing. Try buying some drill bits that can actually cut through mild steel these days.

Gotta make Frankenstein pattern; a mix of your favorite collar, pocket shape, button placket etc. built around a known-good pattern (ex-wife is a master tailor).

I’m sure there’s good stuff out there fabric-wise, but what used to be off-the-shelf awesome is now marketed as boutique or custom.

Honestly, all these complaints about PE firms and whatnot. Look, if you’ve lived in the US during my 50 years, and you haven’t come to the conclusion that sheisters are everywhere, then frankly, you’ve been high. It’s a free market, no one said people had to buy into the IPO. Anyone who did any due diligence knew better.

Look at Macys. How many more downsizings will they have before they give up? They controlled Federated, Consolidated and May Co, but lower sales today in nominal dollars. Less stores too.

Nieman Marcus filed bankruptcy. Super short cash on hand, access to credit. HBC (Saks) is trying to buy but the handlers are too greedy.

Honestly, I love to read about these things because it reminds me that while I’ve missed making money on some of this stuff, I wasn’t wrong about the fundamentals. Who needs malls and plazas? Really, not too many of us.

It’s a shell game, how good is your timing?

Buffalo – re: Macy’s, Wolf has reported here many times on their strong transition to online-their steady march of store closures to be expected…

may we all find a better day.

Sounds like more retailers should put ‘poison pill’ plans firmly in place to dissuade private equity trash from taking over.

But maybe company executive management wants the PE firms to show up when things start to go south to get in on the big payouts?

Is Fisker automotive on your list of imploded stocks? Word is they are preparing for bankruptcy filings. Stock is down more than 99% from the high.

Yes. Here is one from August, on EV startup stocks collapsing, including Fisker:

https://wolfstreet.com/2023/08/09/the-collapse-of-the-ev-spacs-another-one-goes-bankrupt-others-on-the-verge/

The “mallpocalypse” and the long, slow death of so much brick-and-mortar retail presages a similar fate for CRE insofar as it’s office space, since the pandemic accelerated the work-from-home revolution for which the technology already existed and had begun at least as far back as the mid 20-teens.

While I know nothing about h shopping for fabrics, Joann’s business seems like it could be much more efficient as an e-commerce operation:

They have a gazillion different skus for all the different color/size/etc. variations of a product, and most products are very small and light (inexpensive to ship).

It must be a headache keeping each store stocked with exactly the things customers in that area buy (and none of the things they don’t), but having everything in a central warehouse solves this.

I don’t even want to think about the headache that inventory management at these stores must be…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *